Forage lo_res_2_2019

FORAGE &
NUTRITION
GUIDE 2019
€5

MOLASSES: IMPROVING SILAGE
QUALITY FOR GENERATIONS
Benefits:
• Increases dry matter and lactic acid content of grass silage
• Stimulates fermentation and facilitates natural silage preservation
• Reduces pH and ammonia nitrogen levels of treated forage
• Increases clamp storage capacity
• Rich source of natural sugar and energy

Forage & Nutrition Guide 2019
Editorial
Liam de Paor
Automation and technology on a Tipperary farm
Timmy Dwyer(pictured left) is milking a herd of 120
spring-calving cows
Planning for better silage
How to manage riskon the farm
Playing to ourstrengths
The benefits of maximising the contribution of grazed grass
in the diet of the sheep
Planning for next winter’s feeding
How do we value grass, silage oralternative feeds
Weed control in grassland
Weed infestation can reduce value of grassland sward
Remove the bull
Simplify the breeding process by removing the bull
Machinery News
Machinery editorNoel Dunne on the latest machinery news
Nutrition
The role of fibre forbetterfeed utilisation
Feed
Feeding the right fatty acids at the right time to the right cow
Protected urea
What is it and is it cost effective?
Solarsolutions
SolarPump Solutions forwatering livestock
Investment in farm buildings
There is an unprecedented demand fornew infrastructure
Clover and its benefits
Using leguminous crops as a way of reducing costs
Alternative forages
Where do they fit in?
A contractor recommends
Cathal Swan offers some recommendations forbaling
Fodder production strategy
Matt O’Keeffe looks at Westerwolds silage crops
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Editor: Liam de Paor
Design: Martin Whelan
Advertising Manager: Anna Douglas
Advertising Executive: John Sheehan
Machinery Correspondent: Noel Dunne
Chief Executive: Rebecca Markey
Publisher: David Markey
Accounts: Tricia Murtagh
Administration & Subscriptions: Sue Nolan
Publishers: IFP Media
Forage & Nutrition Guide 2019, Castlecourt,
Monkstown Farm, Monkstown, Co. Dublin A96 P924.
Tel: +353 1 709 6900 • Fax: +353 1 709 6933
Email: info@ifpmedia.com • www.irishfarmersmonthly.com
Copyright IFP Media 2019. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any
material form without the express written permission of the publishers.

With an estimated 350,000 more dairy cows on farms
since the cessation of milkquotas in 2015, the majority
of dairy farmers are now unwilling to keep and rear
surplus calves as they once did. As a result, more calves
have come onto the market – at a younger age.
Forhealth and economic reasons dairy farmers would be much
betteroff selling theircalves at an olderage. Forexample the
Wicklow Calf Company, which is a majorexporter, does not send
calves abroad until they are 21 days old and weigh approx. 50kg.
Howeverthe problem is that many dairy farmers do not have the
housing orlabourto cope with these extra calves. The increased
numberof calves has put pressure on prices and cross bred Kiwi
calves in particularare practicallyworthless.
While a significant numberof calves are exported, there are
problems with inadequate lairage facilities in France, which limits
the numbers that can be exported and this problem has also
impacted on prices. In addition, the beef sector is on its knees.
Some farmers – particularly those doing bull beef – have also
become disenchanted by the financial viability of such systems.
According to ICBFthe quality of the calves from the dairy herds
is getting worse, which is a real challenge forthe beef industry
so buyers are responding by paying less forthese calves and
weanlings. The ICBFand Teagasc are working towards the
implementation of a new index forthe breeding season of spring
2019 in orderto have high-quality calves forbeef production on
the ground the following year.
This will give the buyers of these calves a reassurance that they
are getting an animal that is capable of efficiently producing
a beef carcass that will hit specs in terms ofweight and
conformation.
In recent months, prominent beef finishers and sucklerfarmers
have raised concerns relating to the price of beef. According to
the farm organisations there is a gap of €140 perhead between
British and Irish cattle prices. In addition there is a lot of concern
overthe possible impact of Brexit on the beef industry.
Fortunately milkprices are looking good for2019 and future
prospects are excellent forthe dairy industry. Indeed, the sales of
more than 60,000t of SMP from the EU’s intervention stockpile is
a majorboost to dairy markets.
Dutch milkproduction has fallen 2.92 percent in the 2018
January to Decemberperiod according to ZuivelNL, the Dutch
dairy industry organisation. This is due to the restriction on the
national dairy herd imposed to reduce phosphate output. Dutch
milksupplies account fora further9.4 percent of EU supplies.
As regards New Zealand, restrictions from environmental
legislation enacted by the current Labourgovernment will likely
reduce scope forgrowth in the medium to longerterm. In its
Quarterly Dairy Report published last December, Rabobank
predicts “double digit” demand growth from China fordairy
products, due largely to excessive production costs restricting
domestic output.
Livestockfarmers’ experience last yearhas again highlighted
the need foradequate forage stocks of good quality to caterfor
increasing livestocknumbers. Indeed, we were very fortunate
to have a late winterand an early spring when grass growth was
exceptional, otherwise there would have been a severe fodder
crisis on most farms.
Using a top class silage additive and protecting the clamp with
betterquality silage covers will greatly minimise fermentation
and storage losses. The new milkquota is on land and labourso
dairy farmers need to significantly improve herd performance
and invest in new technology to make a decent profit from their
investment and increased milkproduction.
Livestockfarmers need to optimise production from grass so
as to increase milkyields/ha, to improve live weight gain and to
conserve more silage. So it makes sense to do more reseeding
with top class grass varieties. In this regard, grass palatability is an
important trait to optimise dry materintakes.
However, it does not make good economic sense to become
over-dependent on grass forage due to the vagaries of ourIrish
weather. It also does not make much sense fordairy farmers to be
competing forscarce rental land with tillage farmers.
A betteroption would be to forward contract with tillage farmers
to purchase fodderbeet, forage maize, barley and straw for
bufferand winterfeeding, using the diet feeders available on
many farms. The various storms overthe last yearand snow
falls in 2018 have highlighted the need forwell-constructed
animal housing. Farmers also need to invest in powergenerators,
heating in the parlourto prevent pipelines freezing and extra
milkstorage to caterforbiggerherds and potential delays in milk
collection.
Liam de Paor, Editor
Planningaheadfor
amoreprofitable2019
Farm incomes under p
for 2018
According to the December 2017 Central Statistics Office
(CSO) Livestock Survey, the number of cattle in Ireland was
6,673,600, an increase of 60,200 (+0.9 per cent) on December
2016. The number of dairy cows increased by 48,100 (+3.7 per
cent), while other cows fell by 23,700 (-2.3 per cent). Cattle
aged two years and over (excluding cows and bulls), increased
by 18,400 (+4.6 per cent). The CSO also reported that in June
last total sheep numbers were up by 73,700 (+1.4 per cent) to
5,252,900.
The earlywinter and late spring has, again, highlighted the
need for adequate forage stocks of good quality to cater for
increasing livestock numbers. Using a top-class silage additive
soil pH (ie. pH 6.3 fo
are applying less th
in the 1970s and ea
is the cornerstone f
It is also well-estab
of swards in Ireland
selenium and iodine
So, to optimise milk
need to improve an
Teagasc adviser or a
worthwhile.
However, it does no
Liam de Paor
4

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Timmy Dwyer is a dairy farmer
from Holycross near Thurles in
Co. Tipperary, milking a herd of
120 spring-calving cows. The
farm is home to 123 acres and an
additional 35 acres are leased.
While 120 cows bring a heavyworkload with them, Timmy
has help and takes every Sunday off to unwind and an
FRS relief milkercomes in during the milking season.
To reduce the workload and make his life easier,
he turned his attention to automation and
technology; something that Timmy believes
has benefited his farm and his system.
Last year, automatic calf feeders were installed on
his farm. In addition to the calf feeders, a drafting
system was also installed. This has helped
greatly in the springtime when it comes to AI.
Moreover, a feed-to-yield system is currently
being installed in the milking parlourbefore
the first cow is due to calve at the end of March.
Afterfirst hearing about Herdwatch five years ago,
Timmy is now a long-term member. He now relies on
Herdwatch to help in the everyday running of his farm.
Some of the features which Timmy uses
Herdwatch forinclude calf registration and animal
movements. As Timmy has to deal with a lot of calves
primarily on his own, he outlined that the scanning
method forcalf registration is a majortime saver.
“I go out and tag the calf and then registerall my calves as
I go along.You have no messing up with breeds ormale or
female; everything comes backproperly on the card.”
He also uses Herdwatch from a breeding perspective.
Through Herdwatch he can trackwhat cows were served and
CaseStudy:
Automationandtechnology
onTipperarydairyfarm
6
Author: Jane Marks, Herdwatch

when; and he can also trackrepeats. Timmy also highlighted
that Herdwatch has a live linkwith ICBFwhich means any
information on yourICBFaccount such as milkrecords, EBI
information, Euro-Stars, past breeding records, AI technician
serves and freeze brands will flow seamlessly into the app.
Notifications on the watch-board will allow Timmy
to generate a calving report in the springtime, so he
can see the list of cows that are calving and when.
“It is very easy to use, and the app will prompt you along the
whole time and – ifyou make a mistake – it’s easy to go back.”
Timmy finds Herdwatch extremely helpful when it comes
to recording remedies forBord Bia inspections. Herdwatch
allows farmers to simply scan theirfarm medicines into
the app using the camera on theirsmartphone. This gives
farmers the confidence that theirrecords are 100 percent
accurate and in the event of a farm inspection, all the farmer
need do is show the Inspectorhis reports from Herdwatch.
“Ifyou vaccinate cattle orinject ordose a cow, you bring out
your phone there and then and it’s recorded. Before, I’d walk
off and say I must do that tomorrow, but I might forget it.”
This Tipperary dairy farmeris a firm believerin
change and has adapted to new technologywhen it
comes to the day-to-day running of his farm.
“Everyyearwe will try and improve on something
just to make life a little bit easierand automation
and technology seem to be the way to go.”
HerdWatch
Timmy is part of a growing community of
over10,000 farms in Ireland and the UKusing
Herdwatch every day to manage theirfarms and
eliminate farm compliance paperwork.
HerdWatch is a specialist in on-farm technology, enabling
everyday farmers to save an average of three hours a
weekon paperwork. The app has won numerous awards,
including the SilverOnline Innovation Award at LAMMA
2019, Best New Product at Dairy Day 2017 and the Prince
Philip Innovation award presented at Buckingham Palace.
The business model is subscription-based, with a
free trial, and according to the company nine out
of 10 farmers that try Herdwatch, keep it. New
features are regularly added, saving farmers valuable
time by recording calf births oranimal health data
on the go and even without internet access.
You too can join Herdwatch by downloading the app
forFREE today from the App/Play Store. To find out
more visit www.herdwatch.ie orcall 0505-34400.
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When it comes to silage-making, there are two things to bear
in mind:
XX Having enough silage available, and of good enough
quality, is essential
XX With the weather, always expect the unexpected
So, how do you manage this risk? The answerlies in proper
planning. And it’s nevertoo early to start. Begin by calculating
how much silage you’ll need forthe winter. Forexample, ifyou
need 1,000 tonnes, workout how many acres of grass you’ll need
to cut to produce that, and how many cuts you’ll need to take?
But don’t stop there.
You neverknowwhat the season will bring, so askyourself ifyou
need to make a bit more as a contingency? Perhaps an extra 10
percent?You feed silage forsix orso months of the year, maybe
more. So prioritise silage-making as an important part ofyour
business. The quantity and quality ofwhat you produce can have
a huge impact on yourbottom line.
To make more silage orbetterquality silage, start by considering
reseeding. Overtime, weed grasses creep into olderpastures,
and might only utilise a third of the nitrogen that a good quality
perennial ryegrass can use. When it comes to making silage,
rememberalso that using a good quality, proven additive serves
two purposes.
By improving the fermentation, not only does it reduce the
tonnes of dry matter(DM) lost during storage, giving you more
silage available to feed, it also betterpreserves the quality.
That’s important, because ifyou want to make more milk
from forage, quality silage plays a big part. When considering
an additive, lookforone that comes backed-up with plenty of
scientific research. And make sure you orderin plenty of time.
Also, when planning forthis year’s silage production, why not
examine the silage you made last season? It’s often overlooked,
but carrying out a thorough inspection ofwhat’s in clamps now
can provide a whole list of pointers forhowyou could make
bettersilage this year.You will already know howwell yoursilage is
feeding, and hopefully have a silage analysis.
Combining these two with a clamp inspection provides a
powerful insight into things you could do differently orbetter. To
help, we have put togethera simple five-step process of clamp
inspection.
FIVE-STEP PLAN TO LEARN LESSONS FROM CLAMPS

SEE THE SILAGE
Begin with a visual inspection. If the clamp is emptierthan
normal, you can’t rewind the clockon last year’s grass growth,
but you can take steps to maximise grass yields in the future, by
replacing old leys with new higher-yielding mixtures.
Also, as well as assessing the silage quantity, checkthe colour.
Good grass silage should be a nice olive green. Darkerorblack
areas can indicate excess nitrogen (N) in the sward at harvest,
which leads to poorfermentation as N buffers the beneficial acid
produced during the fermentation process. With all fertiliser,
allow enough time afterapplying it before the grass is cut.
Planningformore&
bettersilagein2019
It’s a fact of life in
farming: when you
ultimately depend on
the weather to earn
your living, you are at
the mercy of risk.
8
Authors: Liam Gannon and JP Harkin, Ecosyl Business Managers, Volac Ireland

Everything you need
to produce quality silage
Volac Ireland
Volac House, Church Street,
Killeshandra, Co. Cavan, Ireland
LoCall No 00800 86522522

Remember, fermentation is essentially pickling of the grass in
which desirable acid, such as lactic acid, is produced by beneficial
bacteria, which then inhibits the growth of undesirable microbes.
Checkalso forsigns ofwastage. If there is surface wastage
evident on the clamp, it can mean airpenetration due to an
untidy face. Deeperwaste oran overall brown colourto the silage
can be anothersign of a poorfermentation. In this case, clamp
management needs attention – forexample clamp consolidation,
use of a proven additive, and clamp sealing.
Insufficient consolidation is common on farms – often because
consolidation machinery on the clamp can’t keep pace with how
quickly new trailers arrive with fresh grass. Also, when it comes to
sealing, a lot of farms still omit clamp side sheets. But concrete
clamp walls are porous, so theywill allow air to get in. Side sheets
should also extend all the way down to the floorof the clamp,
and be sufficiently long that they overlap on top of the oxygen
barrierfilm, which should be placed on top of the silage. At
least one blacksilage sheet should then be placed on top of the
overlapping side sheets, and adequatelyweighted to maintain an
air-tight seal.
SMELL THE SILAGE
As well as a visual inspection, checkhow the silage smells. It
should have a nice, clean smell, but should not be sickly sweet. If
it smells like vinegarorunpleasant, it can again be a sign of a poor
fermentation orthe wrong type of fermentation due to the wrong
type of bacteria, such as enterobacteria and clostridia.
A poorfermentation not only reduces silage quality but
also depletes quantity. So it’s important the fermentation is
dominated by the right type of bacteria.
The additive Ecosyl, forexample, drives the fermentation by
delivering 1 million beneficial Lactobacillus plantarum MTD/1
bacteria pergram of forage treated when used correctly.
Trials on grass showed more than 95 percent of the DM ensiled
was retained when treated with Ecosyl. This was 3.7 percent more
than without an additive used.

TEST THE TEXTURE
At the same time as smelling a sample of the silage, checkits
texture. Assess how much leaf material it contains relative to
stem material. Ideallyyou want mainly leaf material because this
is more digestible.
Stemmy, fibrous silage suggests the cutting date of the grass was
too late.You may have delayed cutting last season forextra bulk.
But reallyyou want to cut before heading. Afterheading, there is
a 0.5 percent decline in grass digestibility perday.
If the silage feels slimy, this again can mean excess N in the grass
at harvest, orthat sugars were too low – eitherway leading to
a poorfermentation and a proliferation of bad bugs, which are
starting to breakthe silage down.

TAKE THE TEMPERATURE
Anotherobvious sign that all isn’t well with silage is of the silage
is heating up. Heating is caused by aerobic spoilage caused when
airgets into the clamp and activates the activity ofyeasts and
moulds that start to feed on the silage’s nutrients, releasing heat
Insufficient consolidation is often caused because machinery on the clamp can’t
keep pace with how quickly new trailers arrive with fresh grass
Clamp side sheets should be used and extend all the way down to the floor,
because porous concrete is not as good as plastic for keeping out air
10

in the process. If this is happening, it’s a sign that consolidation
and clamp sealing need improving to halt the yeast and
mould numbers multiplying at the point of ensiling. Using an
appropriate additive will also keep silage coolerforlonger.
If the silage is slightlywarm but isn’t actually heating up, that
may just be latent heat that’s present. It’s only if the temperature
is increasing that aerobic spoilage is likely to be the culprit.
Therefore, checkclamp temperature at various time intervals and
checkhow quickly silage heats up afterit’s been removed from
the clamp.

MANAGE THE MOISTURE
The last step in the process is to assess the silage’s moisture
content.You knowwhat condition the grass was in when it was
cut. If the silage is drierorwetterthan you were expecting, it may
be a sign it was overorunder-wilted. The optimum is to wilt as
rapidly as possible to a target DM of 28-32 percent. This will not
only minimise the riskof clamp effluent from grass being too wet,
but also minimise losses from it being too dry – forexample from
grass blowing about in the field orlosses from aerobic spoilage
due to it being more difficult to consolidate to squeeze out air.
Alternatively, if the silage is wetterthan the grass originally
ensiled, this can mean the fermentation was inefficient and slow,
because slow fermentation produce excess water. Again, good
clamp management and use of a proven additive will help.
SUMMARY
In summary, grass silage is one of the cheapest feeds available
aftergrazed grass. And it could be providing yourmain forage for
six months of the year, ormore. Taking the time to calculate how
much you need and to evaluate howyou make it, so that you can
improve its production in future, can go a long way to keeping
your business sustainable and profitable.
There’s plenty of good information freely-available on making
consistently bettersilage.
Check the temperature of silage to see whether it is heating up
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Sheep, like all ruminants, can take a feed stuff like grass and
convert it into high quality protein and energy, which we can
consume. In addition to this, sheep meat contains a wide
range of essential micronutrients including iron, zinc and
vitamin B12. Pasture-fed lamb also has higherconcentrations
of the beneficial fatty acid CLA, compared to intensively
reared lamb.
This ability to take a human inedible carbohydrate source
and convert it into a human edible food, makes an important
contribution to global food production. Not least in Ireland
where approx. 90 percent of ouragricultural area is dedicated to
grazing. Recent research by Elizabeth Earle in Teagasc Athenry,
reported that when we measure all the feed consumed on
a sheep farm and all the meat produced on that farm, each
kilogram of sheep meat requires 22 kg of grass dry matter(DM),
4kg of silage DM and 0.9 kg of concentrate DM to produce (Earle
et al., 2017). This includes the feed consumed by the ewes, rams
and lambs on the farm. These figures were fora flockof sheep
with an average weaning rate of 1.7 lambs perewe mated.
Interestingly, when the weaning rate (as influenced by ewe type)
dropped to 1.5 lambs perewe mated, feed requirement increased
to 26 kg grass DM, 4 kg silage DM and 1kg concentrate DM perkg
sheep meat produced. This shows that increasing littersize, when
supported by grass grown, is actually a more efficient way of
converting feed to meat on a sheep farm. An increase in weaning
rate from 1.5 to 1.8 lambs perewe also increases profitability by
€440 perha (Bohan et al., 2018) where increased lamb output is
supported by enhanced grass growth and utilisation due to the
lowerrelative costs of grazed grass.
We can sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that sheep are
just like small cattle, but this is not the case. There are different
Playingtoourstrengths
The benefits of maximising the contribution
of grazed grass in the diet of sheep
12
Author: Assoc. Prof. Tommy Boland, School of Agriculture and Food Science, UCD.

types of ruminants. Ifwe thinkof the main evolutionary
advantage of ruminants as being the ability to digest fibrous
feedstuffs, then cattle are actually slightly more evolved than
sheep. This means that cattle are betterat dealing with poorer
quality forages than sheep, and therefore we need to pay
particularattention to the quality of grass we offerto oursheep.
While Irish sheep production systems are nominally pasture
based, recent survey data show that 40 percent of farmers
offerconcentrate supplementation to ewes in early lactation
and only 9 percent of survey respondents neversupplement
lambs with concentrates (Bohan, 2017). As a result, purchased
concentrates are the single largest contributor(~40 percent) to
direct costs on sheep farms (Teagasc, 2017). However, Campion
et al. (2017) reported that concentrate supplementation in early
lactation offered no animal performance benefit and served
only to reduce grass DM intake. Earle et al. (2017) showed that
as much as 90 percent of all lambs can be finished from pasture
alone. A farm must grow approx. 1 tonne of grass DM perewe
on the farm. So, ifyou are stocked at 12 ewes perhectare, then
12 tonnes of grass DM must be grown perha.
So as sheep producers we need to focus on maximising the
quality and quantity of grass available to oursheep at all times
of the year. Some of the key considerations here are grazing
the grass to a low post grazing sward height (approx. 4cm in
spring) and then allowing the grass time to recoverand regrow.
The mantra of grow it in three weeks and graze it in three days
is often cited. These recommendations workverywell from a
grass supply and grass quality point ofview. However, they do
expose oursheep to high levels of parasite burden. The vast
majority of infective larvae in the sward are found on the lower
5 cm of the grass plant. When we manage oursheep to graze
swards down to 4 cm, they are consuming quite a lot of parasite
larvae, but this low grazing height is essential to maintain grass
quality, especiallywith a perennial rye grass sward.
A furtherchallenge with growing 12 tonnes of grass DM per
ha peryearis the high nitrogen (N) requirement to support this
growth. Recent research workat UCD Lyons Farm has looked
at modifying current grassland seed mixtures to address some
of these challenges in sheep farming. A large animal grazing
systems studywas conducted at UCD Lyons Farm to test how
animals performed when offered foursward types overtwo
grazing seasons. Swards were established in September 2014
and were grazed in 2015 and 2016. The swards tested were
a perennial ryegrass only sward (PRG) receiving 163 kg N/ha/
year; a perennial ryegrass plus white cloversward (PRGWC)
receiving 90 kg N/ha/year; a six species sward (6S) containing
perennial ryegrass and timothy, white cloverand red clover,
ribwort plantain and chicory receiving 90kg N/ha/year; and
a nine species sward (9S) including the six species above plus
cocksfoot, greaterbirdsfoot trefoil and yarrow receiving 90 kg
N/ha/year. Each sward type was managed as a separate farmlet,
with 5 grazing divisions perfarmlet and operated undera
rotational grazing system stocked with 12.5 twin rearing ewes
perhectare.
Findings show that lambs grazing the multispecies swards had
highergrowth weights to weaning than lambs grazing perennial
ryegrass only. Lambs from the six species sward swards had a
weaning weight of 33.3kg at 14 weeks of age, and this was 2.5
kg heavierthan the lambs grazing perennial ryegrass. These
lambs grazing the 6S grew at a rate of 350 grams perday from
birth to sixweeks of age. Indeed, lambs on all sward types had
growth rates in excess of 300 grams perday forthe first six
weeks of life, and by including additional species to perennial
ryegrass in the sward lamb performance was improved.
As the lamb is dependent on the mother’s milkforall its energy
requirements at this stage of life, this suggest that these ewes
eitherproduced more milk, orthe milkthey produced had a
highercontent of solids (fat and protein).
Furtherkey findings from this study include the reduced
requirement fordosing to control stomach worms when lambs
were grazing swards containing herbs (chicory and plantain).
This is potentially a very important finding forIrish sheep
farmers. One of the key challenges in pasture-based production
systems is the need to control intestinal parasites such as
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stomach worms. This control has largely depended on the use of
chemical anthelmintic, though recent evidence shows there is
huge resistance within the parasites to these drugs.
A recent random sample of Irish sheep farms revealed that
all farms had parasite populations that had resistance to the
benzimadazole anthelmintic class and some farms had parasite
populations with resistance to the three main anthelmintic
classes available in Ireland.
The fact that animals grazing multispecies swards required less
dosing is critical as it points to a lowerreliance on these drugs to
control these parasites, as there are some anthelmintic properties
within the plants themselves.
Finally, the lambs grazing the multispecies swards were
slaughtered at a youngerage (same weight) than the lambs
grazing the perennial ryegrass only sward. This frees up grass at
a key time on sheep farms in the pre-mating season forflushing
ewes, ensuring correcting body condition score at mating and
supporting a good littersize within the flock.
On the environmental side a numberof key benefits are also
evident. More species rich swards support greaterinvertebrate
biodiversity, with earthworm numbers and diversity increased in
multispecies swards. Also some modelling data would suggest
the potential to reduce nitrous oxide emissions perkg of ‘grass’
DM produced when using multispecies swards, largely arising
from the reduced fertiliserN requirements.
There are some issues to considerhowever, these include the
issue of dealing with weeds in newly established swards, and the
persistency of the swards overtime.
Weed encroachment is an issue as there are no chemical
herbicides available in Ireland that would not remove either
the herbs orthe grass from the sward when controlling weeds.
Interestingly though, the multispecies swards were more
resistant to weed encroachment compared to perennial ryegrass
monocultures where no weed spraywas applied. A recent DAFM
funded project including collaborators from UCD, DIT, AFBI and
Massey University in New Zealand, with support from Devenish
Nutrition and Slaney Foods, lead by DrHelen Sheridan and myself
aims to address some of these issues and also examine the role of
multispecies swards in beef and dairy production systems and in
mixed cattle and sheep grazing systems.
With an everchanging policy environment relating to
environmental issues including biodiversity, waterquality, soil
health and climate change, and a more demanding consumer,
a continued drive to improve ouranimal production systems is
necessary, and multispecies swards may help to provide some of
the answers.
14

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According to the June CSO data the number of dairy cows was
up by 48,200 (+3.4 percent). In 2010, we had just over one
million dairy cows in Ireland and in 2017 – seven years later
– we had about 1.4 million cows so we definitely need more
grass, silage oralternative feeds to feed these cows in an
economical manner.
Based on figures from Teagasc, the increased milkproduction
experienced in 2018 was due to the 3.5 per cent increase in cow
numbers, combined with a 38 percent increase in compound
feed /cow used compared to 2017. On the typical dairy farm feed
expenditure was estimated to have increased by about 50 per
cent. Feed costs also rocketed on cattle and sheep farms.
On average 1,400kg of concentrate/cowwas used to fill the
gap left by the reduced grass growth on most farms across the
country during 2018. Renting extra land forgrazing orsilage and
competing forsame with tillage farmers is an expensive exercise.
Afterlast yearwhen most experienced varied quality and yields
in all crops, many livestockfarmers are reassessing theiroptions
forfeed next winter. Before we lookforward, we should make
sure that we have accurate information about the previous year’s
forage production. Many are talking about excellent quality crops
of maize grown in 2018 and a realisation that it was the crop least
affected by the drought. Maize has tested verywell with excellent
dry matter(DM) and starch results very common. It really boils
down to growing maize in the right site, using the right varieties
underfilm and applying the appropriate nutrients to the crop.
Poorcrops of maize in 2018 were generally sown late, under
fertilised and put in average fields without cover. Fodderbeet also
yielded prettywell fora finish despite the poorstart and drought
conditions. Those who grew successful crops of maize and beet
in 2018 are actually considering increasing theiracreage of these
Planningfornextwinter’sfeeding
This spring there was lots of grass on most farms and in general ground
conditions were excellent. There will be, however, in general relatively small
reserves left over to carry into next winter and with this in mind a plan for
forage production in 2019 should be considered sooner rather than later.
16
Author: Brian Reidy, Nutritionist

crops. The addition of a second forage source along with grass
silage to a livestockdiet such as a beef finisherration will increase
forage DM intake by between 10 and 15 percent. This will result
in reduced and expensive concentrate inputs being required.
Crops such as maize silage and whole-crop cereals will provide
high DM and starch contents forlivestockfarms. Fodderbeet
is also an excellent sugarenergy sources forcattle and cows.
Alternative forages have a huge roll in future beef ormilk
production in Ireland as they are generally farmore reliable
sources of high-quality energy forstockin comparison with the
extremelyvariable grass silages produced here yearly.
A viable option forsome farmers who do not have suitable land to
grow alternative forages orcereals may be to source them locally
from specialised tillage producers. Do yoursums based on a cost
pertonne DM of each forage before any decision is made.
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17

HOW DO WE VALUE OUR FEEDS?
The energy in the ration drives liveweight gain and milk
production. It also determines conformation and fat score in your
cattle along with body condition and fertility in yourdairy herd.
Most farmers lookat the feed cost perTonne of DM howeverfeed
cost perunit of energy is farmore important! The French protein
(PDI) system estimates the quantity of amino acids absorbed in
the small intestine from the dietary protein undegraded in the
rumen and microbial protein synthesised in the rumen. Teagasc,
UCD, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and
the feed industry have decided to adopt the French system of
feed evaluation incorporating the energy, protein (PDI) and
intake sub-systems. Typically grass and grass silage-based diets
supply an excess of N overenergy to the rumen resulting in the
inefficient conversion of feed N to milkprotein.
A central principle of the PDI system is the balancing of energy
and protein in the rumen and, thus, formulating diets using
this system should result in improved efficiency of utilisation of
feed N and potentially a reduction in the level of supplementary
protein required. The net energy of the feed is the amount of
energy the animal can actually use. The old system spoke about
Metabolisable energy (ME) which included energywhich wasn’t
available to the animal.
Net energy is now measured in UFL and one UFL is the equivalent
to the energy in one kg of air-dried barley.
GRASS SILAGE 2018- LEARNING FROM PREVIOUS YEARS
Of the 2018 silages I have tested on farm with my mobile NIR4
machine the main observations were that a lot of the silage
saved are eithervery dry due to the drought and/oroverwilting,
while the opposite is also true with many extremelywet silages
in pits where it was harvested in late autumn. The dry silage has
generally not preserved well, was heating at feed out and many
had harmful moulds. While the wet silage makes it impossible for
stockto consume sufficient DM.
Silage ideally should not be on the ground more than 24 hrs
unless it is being baled (even with bales the quickerit is wrapped
the better). Grass silage production is getting more and more
expensive everyyearand unfortunately its quality can be variable
depending on weather, cutting date and grassland management/
reseeding policy. Too much poororaverage silage in the pit will in
fact increase overall beef ormilkproduction costs.Year-on-year
we are producing poorersilages and as a result we are reducing
animal performance from forage and depending more on
concentrates which is increasing production costs. The solution is
in yourhands!
Mean grass silage quality parameters from Teagasc clients in 2016
WHAT IS YOUR SILAGE STRATEGY?
Those who are serious about producing quality grass silage have
a plan in place to produce the best silage possible. Any plan
should include an early grazing strategy ornot grazing, a soil
nutrient test, a fertiliserand slurry programme, a weed control
programme, a reseeding programme, a planned cutting date and
a good ensiling strategy.
Now is the time ofyearto set out yourgoals forall of the above
aspects. Those producing quality silage in 2019 will be cutting it
in early May and will have the first application of fertiliserout early
weatherpermitting. With the amount of grass on silage ground
this yeareven earliercutting dates should be aimed for. Is grazing
silage ground this yeara sensible strategy? I would suggest not.
It will potentially delay the first cut date and reduce quality. Once
grass heads out and has a stem it will cost you more money to
balance it correctly as silage.
Silage quality used for comparison
1st Cut Silage 2nd Cut Silage
Dry Matter % 25% 24%
UFL/Kg D.M. 0.76 0.71
D.M.D. % 68% 64%
Crude Protein 12% 11%
Silage quality used for comparison
1st Cut Silage 2nd Cut Silage
Dry Matter % 25% 24%
UFL/Kg D.M. 0.76 0.71
D.M.D. % 68% 64%
Crude Protein 12% 11%
Yields & Costs
Grazed
Grass
1st
Cut
2nd
Cut
Maize
Plastic
Maize
no Plastic
Whole
Crop
Sugar
Beet
Fodder
Beet Kale Rape
Tonnes/ ha 75 20 17.5 50 45.5 24 60 81 37 42
€/ha 855 625 587 1643 1383 940 1894 1894 697 446
Rent/ha 625 250 250 625 625 625 625 625 250 250
DM 17 25 24 30 27 35 20.0 16.0 15 12
Tonnes
DM/ha 12.8 5.0 4.2 15.0 12.3 8.4 12.0 13.0 5.3 3.5
UFL/Kg DM 1.00 0.76 0.71 0.85 0.80 0.75 1.15 1.12 1.12 1.03
18

Rushes thrive in wet, acidic conditions and will out-compete
grass on land with low soil fertility. Poached fields and poor
grass growth also allow docks and thistles to multiply. The
seeds left in pasture in 2018 from the above weeds will
readily germinate and spread this yearif action is not taken.
Growing more grass so it can actively compete with weeds such
as rushes, is one way of preventing infestation. An acidic soil
does not directly favorrushes, but it will significantly inhibit grass
growth, so liming low ph. mineral soils is essential. This should be
followed with an application of phosphorus and potassium where
necessary to bring yoursoil nutrient level to the optimum status.
RUSHES
The soft rush is the most common of the many rush species. It
is recognised by the dense tuft of brown flowers coming from
the side of the stems and a continuous white centre (pith) when
the stem is peeled back. Soft rush can be controlled with MCPA
or2,4-D, applied in spring/summerwhen growth conditions
are good and weatheris suitable. Application of Straight
MCPA is prohibited from Octoberthrough to February. Strong
rushes should be cut and removed, with pesticide applied to
the regrowth. Weed wiping with a Glyphosate product such as
Roundup orGallup, using a tractororquad, has the advantage
of the product being applied primarily to the target plant. It
uses about 1/3 of the amount of herbicide, (compared to boom
spraying) and produces much lowerlosses to waters. Forfarmers
with Low Input Permanent Pasture in GLAS, chemical control of
rushes can only be carried out byweed wiping orspot spraying.
MCPA is not licensed foruse with eitherof these application
methods. The only products approved foruse in weed wipers are
those based on the active substance glyphosate.
Weedcontrolingrassland
High levels ofweed infestation can significantly reduce the
digestibility and nutritional value of the grassland sward.
19
Author: Ivan Kelly, Sustainability Programme Advisor, Teagasc Athenry

DOCKS
Dockseed can remain viable forover50 years in soil, have a
large root system, and are very opportunistic in terms ofwhere
they germinate. Open swards orswards aftercutting facilitate
light reaching the soil surface which allows germination. Best
control of docks will be achieved when docks are actively growing
and nutrients are actively being transported to new foliage
and roots. If seed stalks are seen on the plant orif the dock
has diseased leaves oris underpest attack, it is betterto cut/
top orgraze and allow re-growth of the docks before applying
chemical. Soil potassium levels should be maintained at Index
3, as oversupply of potash favours the higherneeds of the dock
overgrass. Rotating silage ground can also be an effective dock
control strategy. Use of herbicides based on dicamba, triclopyr
and fluroxypyr(e.g. DockstarPro, Ban Dock) will give season-
long control of docks plus a wide range of common grassland
weeds. Where cloveris of consequence, Eagle orProspect may
be applied. If a suitable herbicide is applied to small docks after
reseeding, long term control is achieved.
CREEPING THISTLES
Creeping thistle is the most widespread and troublesome of
the thistle family. It mainly spreads by creeping roots which can
be meters in length but also spreads bywind-blown feathery
seeds (July and August). To make matters worse, it can grow
new plants from small fragments of its roots, thus appearing to
explode when reseeding is carried out. They cause most damage
by preventing animals grazing around them. Thistles emerge in
the spring at different times, so topping is a useful tactic to even
up the growth stages before spraying. Chemicals such as 2,4-D,
20

MCPA and Dicamba reduce top growth but do not translocate
down to the roots. Formore persistent control use Thistlex, Pastor
orForefront but follow-up sprays will be needed. Many sprays
will kill orseverely slow clovergrowth, so checkproduct labels
carefully.
SUSTAINABLE USE DIRECTIVE
Herbicides commonly used on grassland such as MCPA have
being detected in drinking waterin recent years. Unfortunately,
once the pesticide gets into the watersupply, there is no way
of treating the waterto make it safe. Extreme care is therefore
necessary to ensure that losses are stopped at (i) Point Source -
in the farmyard at storage, filling and washing; and (ii ) Diffuse
Sources - losses at application in the field through run-off and
drift. All farmers that apply pesticide must be registered as a
Professional Userand have completed the appropriate training.
The following precautions should be taken with all herbicide:
XX Read and follow the product label
XX Do not fill sprayers from watercourses
XX Don’t spray if rain orstrong wind is
forecast in the next 48 hours
XX Don’t spray on waterlogged soils
XX Considerweed wiping ordrift reducing nozzles
XX Markout a minimum 5-metre buffer
zone from any riverorlake
XX Containers should be triple rinsed, washings
put in the sprayer& sprayed on grassland.
XX All sprayers that are more than 5 years old having a boom
width of >3m, must have passed a Pesticide Application
Equipment Test by a DAFM approved inspector
When spraying, rememberto keep a record of the products, when
and where theywere applied, and the concentration at which
theywere used.You may be required to furnish this information if
you are selected fora cross compliance inspection. A key message
from the new Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory
Programme (ASSAP) is that good weed control is achieved by the
use of all appropriate Integrated Pest Management options. Best
practice on lime, fertilizer, grazing and topping should always be
part of the overall control measures. Ifwe apply herbicide in a
targeted, precise and sustainable manner, it will help minimize risk
to ourenvironment and maximize grassland productivity.
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21

A lot of Irish farmers use bulls forbreeding on theirfarms. A bull
detects cows in heat and will get them pregnant, without the
farmer’s interference. If the bull is fertile and in good condition,
he can get a herd of approx. 40 cows in calf. Ifyou have a larger
herd size, you will need multiple bulls. However, there is a lot of
workinvolved with keeping a bull. Thinkabout the increased
labour(vaccinating, dosing, TB-testing), health and safety
aspects (bulls are very unpredictable) and biosecurity (sexually
transmitted diseases such as Campylobacter, BVD and IBR).
Also, most bulls used on farms are of lowergenetic merit than the
bulls used at AI-stations and they are not able to pickout sickor
cystic cows foryou. Pregnancy dates can get uncertain, because
repeating cows can get caught again a fewweeks later. Because
of this the accuracy of the pregnancy checkwill decrease as you
can only confirm a cow pregnant 30 days afterbulling.
A cow needs to get pregnant and give birth to a calf every 12
months. A cow’s gestation lasts for280 days. This leaves 85 days
to get the cow pregnant again. Aftercalving, a cow’s body must
recover. To conceive again, heruterus needs to repairitself and
restore to its original size. This process usually takes 45 days and is
called the voluntarywaiting period (VWP).
Now the farmeris left with a 40-day interval in which he needs
to breed the animal. A cow’s cycle takes about 21 days, this gives
the breederless than three heats to get his cows backin calf
which is very challenging. However, this is the most profitable way
of producing milkin any system anywhere in the world. The 2018
National average calving interval in Ireland was 387 days (source
ICBF) which means there is plenty of room forimprovement in
Ireland. Getting cows pregnant within the ideal timeframe of the
40 days breeding period depends on many factors. To realise a
calving interval of 365 days you need to have a healthy cow and
optimal heat detection. If using bulls to try to achieve this, it is a
Removethebull
andsimplifythebreedingprocess
Lisa Herlihy at Dairymaster argues the case for removing
the bull to create greater efficiencywhen breeding
22
Author: Lisa Herlihy, Dairymaster

very labour-intensive option that presents high riskwhich comes
at a time when farmers are very tired aftera busy calving period.
PeterCagney farms in Ballingarry in Co. Limerickin partnership
with his fatherJohn and uncle Pat. They are currently milking just
over350 cows. Peterhas been involved on the farm with the last
10 years. When he first joined the farm, theywere milking approx.
120 cows, they also had beef at that time which they replaced
with cows overtime. They now have a contract rearerwhich
has allowed them to expand even furtheras land has always
been the limiting factor. Petercompleted a three-yearcourse
at Greenmount Ag College in Co. Antrim and afterthat spent a
year travelling and working in farms in New Zealand and Australia
which allowed him to see dairying at scale.
In the past the breeding system used on the Cagney’s farm was
three weeks of artificial insemination with tail paint and then
bulls. However, they found this to be very labourintensive and
were constantlyworried about safety on the farm as many bulls
had turned dangerous in the past and with staff on site this is
always a majorconcern. Requiring someone in the parlourthat
was able to draft bulling cows everydaywas also an issue. When
they looked at how they could improve the working environment
on the farm they decided that theywanted to automate the
whole breeding side of things as it was the most labourintensive
and safetywas such a worrywith the bulls.
They looked at different heat detection systems on the market
and talked to several people about the different system available
during the evaluation period. When it came to decision time the
two most important factors to them were the backup service and
recommendations from otherfarmers in theirdiscussion group
and they chose the DairymasterMooMonitor+ as the choice for
them. Peter’s favourite feature of the MooMonitor+ system is
how simple the app is. “Everything is done foryou, not having to
be there in the morning gives me time to do othermanagement
tasks. In addition to this it has also reduced stress and fatigue
at the busiest time of the year. It has completely simplified the
breeding process in that it is now nearly hands off”
“We use the app forpre-breeding – it’s great!You have all the
information very simply, it removes the labourfrom it.” While
Peterwould be well up on technology, John wouldn’t have been
very familiarhow to use technology howeverJohn is also an avid
userof the app. They both find that the simplicity of the app is key
to the system.
The Cagney’s also have Dairymasterdrafting and he finds that
“the drafting and MooMonitor+ takes care of the breeding side
of things now”. This is theirthird season using MooMonitor+ and
while theirfigures from when theywere tail painting were very
good the MooMonitor+ has reduced empty rates even furtherby
4 percent. The reduction in labouris huge: “Two to three times a
weekit is saving one person permilking tail painting alone”.
Concluding, John notes that MooMonitor+ is now a crucial part
of his business: “I wouldn’t be milking cows without them – with
tail painting you are only guessing and too many bulls around
the place makes it chaotic and too dangerous especiallywhen
you have staff to lookafter. The MooMonitor+ means we can
farm safelywith great peace of mind.You could lookat it and
say it’s an unnecessary expense but, it’s a lot bettervalue than
putting something like a new tractorinto the place. Submissions
were always in the 90s on ourfarm howeverwith MooMonitor+
we have increased submission by a few percent without the
hard labourand hassle.” They also find that they are saving a lot
of straws as in the past when tail painting they used to breed
the “doubtfuls”. When they looked at the return on investment,
removing the seven bulls and replacing them with cows will
pay forthe system in seven years; as faras theywere concerned
everything else is a bonus and it has given them a lot more than
that already in season three.
One of the most important things to the Cagney’s when
evaluating farm purchases is the backup service “With
Dairymasteryou have a brilliant backup service, there is always
someone there to answera question if needed. We relied on the
MooMonitors 100 percent in yearone when we installed the
system and it worked!”
On the breeding side of it, 97 percent or98 percent of the herd
are crossbred, small cows get Friesian straws and big cows get
Jerseys, straws are picked based on kilos of milksolids with high
percentages, fertility and maintenance +15.
“All in all, we considerit moneyverywell spent, we have great
results, a lot saferworkenvironment, a big reduction on the
amount ofworkon the farm and it also makes it a lot easierto
organise coveron the farm.”
Peter Cagney
23

McHale Orbital
Bale Wrapper
The McHale Orbital High Speed Round Bale Wrapper
is the latest addition to the McHale bale wrapper
range. According to the company, they have harnessed
the proven vertical wrapping ring technology used
in the McHale Fusion to deliver a high output
bale wrapper which is capable of keeping up with
multiple balers. “This wrapper also offers farmers and
contractors a high speed wrapping solution which
delivers consistent and even overlap and achieves
optimum levels of fodder preservation and quality
when wrapping bales of fodder from 3 foot 3 inches
or 1 metre up to 4 foot 8 or 1.45 metres.” The McHale
Orbital High Speed Round Bale Wrapper has been
designed with in-built film break sensors, which
immediately detects if the film breaks or runs out on
either dispenser. The machine alerts the operator in
the cab and automatically switches to single dispenser
mode. Film loading can be carried out from the left
hand side of the machine and when the first roll is
loaded and the access door is closed, a button can be
pressed which will index the second dispenser to the
loading position. John Biggins, McHale International
Sales Manager, explains: “We have a number of
machines already at work around the factory and both
farmers and contractors are very happy with them.
The Orbital Bale Wrapper provides an unrivalled
high speed wrapping solution through the use of the
vertical wrapping ring. By harnessing proven Fusion
technology the McHale Orbital offers high speed
wrapping with low running costs.”
McHale’s ProGlide Mower Range
Earlier this year at the FTMTA Farm Machinery Show in
Punchestown, McHale exhibited the latest offerings in the
McHale Pro Glide Mower Range. McHale offer three products
from this range; the McHale ProGlide F3100 Front Mower,
the R3100 Rear Mower and the B9000 Combination Mower.
All Mowers are fitted with 3 metre cutter bars with tine
conditioners and benefit from a number of novel features
which result in better ground following ability and quicker
reaction times to changes in ground conditions. For the 2019
season, the McHale Pro Glide B9000 Combination Mower
comes with an optional Hydraulic Width Adjustment. The
operator can hydraulically adjust the width position of the
rear mowers to eliminate striping on slopes and curves. The
hydraulic rams integrated into the mower beams shift the cutter
bars sideways either together or independently to allow for up
to 400mm overlap on each mower. To achieve the maximum
performance and results from a front and a rear or combination
mower the cutter bar and mower suspension works together
to deliver uncontaminated forage. As a result McHale have
developed unique patented ground adaption technology which
deliver 3 dimensional ground contour tracking for its ProGlide
range of rear and combination mowers which allows an arc of
movement from left to right and forward and back movement
adjusting to changes in the contours of the ground. James
Heanue, Irish Sales Manager for McHale explains: “To maximise
the feed value of forage it is important that grass crops are
cut when the sugar content is highest, and that the mower
leaves clean crop stubble and produces quality forage free
from impurities. Our design team combined there specialist
knowledge of crop harvesting, energy and know-how to
develop the McHale ProGlide range of mowers. I feel these
products offer a number of unique features which will deliver
better ground following ability and better cut quality.”
MACHINERYREPORTMachinery correspondent Noel Dunne reports on the latest developments in the machinery world
24
Forage & Nutrition Guide 2019 MACHINERY

MF RB 3130F and MF RB 3130F Xtracut
The MF RB 3130F features a sleek new appearance,
with redesigned side panels enhancing ergonomics and
numerous improvements under the covers to improve
performance and bale quality. Additional versatility to
produce chopped forage for easier feeding and enhanced
feed quality is offered by the MF RB 3130F Xtracut. The
18 Special Powergrip rollers in the fixed chamber design
ensure constant grip for best bale shape and appearance,
now enhanced by mechanical tail gate locks with
pressure sensors on both sides to help maintain bale
shape. Left-right indication allows the operator to monitor
the outer layers of bale via the in-cab screen.
Xtracut 17 and 25 versions feature two sets of hydraulically
operated knife banks controlled from the cab, allowing
the operator to choose a single knife bank, both knife
banks or the disengagement of all knives for ultimate
flexibility.
MF RB 3130F Protec and
MF RB 4160V Protec
The new MF RB 3130F Protec and MF RB 4160V Protec
balers combine all the benefits of the MF fixed and
variable chamber balers with the addition of an integrated,
specially-designed wrapper device for fast, non-stop
baling and wrapping on the go.
A lower crop elevation angle reduces the overall baler
height, improving stability and allowing safer and faster
hillside operation. The new design features two active
guiding plates on both sides of the baler clearly directing
the bale to the centre of the wrapper plate. Designed
to withstand the heaviest bale loads, the robust frame
operates smoothly for trouble-free wrapping, bale after
bale. The wrapping table is lowered for unloading, thus
minimising the bale-rolling speed, preventing film damage
and maintaining the ideal bale shape. The E-Link Pro
monitor has integrated ISOBUS technology and features
a large bright screen which offers monitoring of multiple
parameters, giving the operator more information and
control of the baler. The MF RB 3130F Protec and RB
4160V Protec can also be controlled via the tractor’s
ISOBUS monitor, where fitted.
Massey Ferguson lead the way
Massey Ferguson (MF) recently unveiled a range of new products in the MF Hay and Forage range, to further strengthen and
expand the range of machines available for farmers and contractors. The new models comprise an upgraded and new-look
MF Fixed Chamber Round Baler range, brand new MF Fixed and Variable Chamber Baler and Wrapper Combination Units
and the brand new Francesco Quaranta, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Massey Ferguson, EME, explained: “Enhancing
our forage range to precisely meet the needs of farmers and contractors is our goal, offering solutions to suit their end use
or market requirements, their crops, and their terrain, and this is clearly demonstrated in these new machines. With this new
introduction and development, we underline our promise of providing our customers and dealers with a full line offer.”
Massey Ferguson lead the way
Massey Ferguson (MF) recently unveiled a range of new products in the MF Hay and Forage range, to further strengthen and
expand the range of machines available for farmers and contractors. The new models comprise an upgraded and new-look
MF Fixed Chamber Round Baler range, brand new MF Fixed and Variable Chamber Baler and Wrapper Combination Units
and the brand new Francesco Quaranta, Vice President Sales & Marketing, Massey Ferguson, EME, explained: “Enhancing
our forage range to precisely meet the needs of farmers and contractors is our goal, offering solutions to suit their end use
or market requirements, their crops, and their terrain, and this is clearly demonstrated in these new machines. With this new
introduction and development, we underline our promise of providing our customers and dealers with a full line offer.”
MF TW 130 trailed wrapper
The MF TW 130 trailed wrapper is a new addition to the
MF hay and forage range and is ideal for operators who
want to wrap bales separately, offering protection and
preservation of fodder quality. A straightforward wrapper
with a rigid frame, the MF TW 130 offers an exceptionally
low wrapping table and semi-automatic controls for fast
and reliable trouble-free operation. A strong, welded
loading arm easily lifts bales up to 1.30m diameter and
a weight of up 1000kg with one press of a button. The
required number of film layers can be adjusted to suit
conditions and crop while the pre-stretching device is
designed to work with 500mm or 750mm rolls and can
be set at 55 per cent or 70 per cent stretch for tighter
wrapping and reduced film consumption.
The versatile MF TW 130 trailed wrapper is built to last
and is capable of handling 1.25m wide bales from 0.9m
to 1.30m in diameter. The simple to use E-Link Basic
control offers semi-automatic control of the wrapper
loading, wrapping and unloading requires only one push
of a button per cycle.
25
MACHINERY

During the digestion process ruminant animals may
only absorb 5 per cent - 20 per cent of the nutrients in
their feed, with the reminder passing through in their
manure. Grazing animals naturally recycle this onto the
pasture, while for housed animals’ slurry has to be stored
and applied to the ground in a safe and environmentally
friendly manner. To maximise the nutrient value from
slurry, attention to detail in relation to the timing of
application, choosing the correct application method to
deliver the nutrients required by the crop and selecting
appropriate spreading technology. This will help to reduce
the use of purchased chemical fertiliser and help improve
farm profitability.
There are environmental concerns associated with
applying slurry and to minimise these risks it is important
to consider - the timing of application, weather factors,
soil type, field aspect (ie. hilly vs flat), proximity to water
courses etc. Application systems such as the Abbey Band
Spreader, Abbey Trailing Shoe and Abbey Tri-App and
Abbey Shallow Disc Injector spreading systems maximise
the nutrient recovery value from the slurry and minimise
any negative impact to the environment.
Value of Animal Manure
A dairy cow will product around 1.5 tons of slurry per
month and over a five-month winter this could save over
€50 worth of conventional fertiliser. On the pig side a sow
and her progeny will product 20t of slurry per year, which
could save over €140 worth of conventional fertiliser.
Deciding what tanker to buy
The size of Slurry Tanker depends on the following:
The volume of slurry to be applied
XX The horsepower of the tractor available
XX Distance from the slurry storage area to the fields
XX Soil aspect – level versus hilly
XX Soil type – clay, loam, heavy/light soil
XX Standard, Recess, Tandem or Tri-Axle Tanker
model type
XX Legislation
XX Crop to be fertilised and timing of application –
grass, cereal, maize, root crops etc.
XX Road safety for transportation
XX Slurry Management System
XX Abbey have developed a six-step Slurry Management
System.
Slurry storage and preparation
During storage Phosphorus, organic nitrogen and
micro ingredients tend to segregate and build up in
high concentrations in the bottom layer of the slurry.
Phosphorous levels can be up to five times higher in the
bottom layer than the middle layer.
Ammonium nitrogen and Potassium do not tend to
segregate as they are water soluble. Proper agitation
ensures the concentration of nutrients is consistent from
the first load to the last load of slurry applied. It enables
faster filling of the Abbey Slurry Tanker and more rapid
emptying in the field through the inverted splash plate or
Turningslurryintotheidealnutrientprovider
Author: Michael A.O’Grady, Sales, Marketing & Business
Development Manager, Abbey Machinery
26

applicator. Abbey Tornado range of pumps rapidly mix
slurry into a homogenous mix.
Slurry Transportation
The choice of tanker that rapidly fills and empties is
crucial to reduce workload. Having a tanker that is safely
towed behind the tractor and carries the maximum
volume of slurry, with all the appropriate safety features
and lights for visibility on the road. Abbey have an
extensive range of 37 model to suit from small to large
scale operations.
Application Technologies
It is becoming increasingly popular to spread slurry
through applicators (Abbey Machinery Tri-App, Trailing
Shoe, Band Spreaders or Shallow Disc Injector). Some
of the key benefits of using applicators are that they -
deliver the nutrients directly to the root zone (below the
canopy of the crop); reduce ammonia emissions by up
to 90 per cent; preserve soil structure; reduce odour
emissions; and minimise soiling of grass which reduces
rotation length when grazing.
Environmental Considerations
Whether is protecting water courses or simply applying
slurry where to maximum available Nitrogen in the
slurry to the plant it is vital to protect the environment.
Applicators have enormous benefits in this area. In
addition, timing of application (for example not spreading
after heavy frosts or before heavy rain) is critical.
Minimising soil compaction
Compaction to the top soil and upper subsoil typically
takes one to five years to repair, depending on the
severity of compaction. Lower subsoil compaction can
take from five to ten years to recover. For these reasons,
farmers are getting more conscious of soil compaction
and are looking for ways to minimise field damage. It can
cost as much as €200/hectare in reduced output from
the field. Wheel choice has a major bearing on potential
compaction of both top and sub soil. In general, low
ground pressure tyres can be used to reduce the
potential for compaction. Wheels with larger radius
(longer rolling circumferences) and greater width all have
the potential to reduce the impact of the machines on
the soil. Bigger slurry tankers and higher horse power
tractors require the correct wheel specification to
minimise their impact on the ground.
Nutrient Management
Flow control technology to apply slurry at a given tractor
speed is now available. Along with much more technical
advancements to ensure exacting levels of slurry are
applied to the right areas to get the most from slurry.
CALL ABBEY
TODAY
ABBEY MACHINERY LTD. CLONALEA, TOOMEVARA, NENAGH, CO. TIPPERARY, IRELAND.
TELEPHONE : 00353 67 26677 | FAX : 00353 67 26778 | INFO@ABBEYMACHINERY.COM
www.abbeymachinery.com
SLURRY
MANAGEMENT
SPECIALISTS
• Fully integrated chassis and
tank for a longer working life
• Weight Sensing Sprung
Drawbar System for
operator comfort
• Collared Dish-ends for
increased overall strength
• Patented ‘Double Trap
System’ for maximum pump
protection
• From 1300g to 6000g
ROI SALES: MICHAEL KINSELLA +353 (0)86 854 0365
NI SALES: DAVID O’MALLEY +44 (0)73 931 16850
(Standard, Recess,Tandem and Tridem)
OVER
OFFAR
M
ING MAC
HINERY
OFFA
R
M
ING MACH
INERY
27
MACHINERY

The new HIT 8.9 T is a compact,
cost effective, efficient tedder with
a working width of 8.86 m that can
be powered by tractors with as little
as 60 horsepower. Like all tedders
in the latest Pöttinger generation,
the heart of the new HIT 8.9 T is
the innovative Dynatech rotor unit.
Dynatech guarantees clean and
tidy operation: tidy crop pick-up,
clean forage, tidy spread pattern
and a clean machine. A small
rotor diameter of 1.42 m delivers
a cleanly tedded crop. Optimum
ground tracking of the individual
rotors ensures clean forage and
minimises raw ash contamination.
The forage is distributed tidily and
uniformly to form a neat spread
pattern. The spreading angle can
be adjusted on each rotor in five
different positions without the need
for tools, resulting in the best match
to forage conditions. Thanks to
the swept shape of the arms, the
crop cannot snag and there is no
wrapping around the rotor. This
keeps the rotors free of forage,
resulting in a clean machine. The
unique rotor geometry offers even
more advantages: forage is picked
up more easily and is subjected to
less of a beating between the tine
arms, meaning lower losses due to
disintegration. This careful uptake is
achieved by the sweeping arms that
‘pull’ the tines. The tines are under
less stress, so service life is increased
as a result. The proven, closed tine
saver system is also integrated.
The tine carrier arms are precisely
positioned on the rotor dish and are
bolted to the hub for stability. Large
gears and bearings on the Dynatech
rotors ensure smooth operation.
The unique Liftmatic Plus lifting
mechanism gives the tedder
a true headland position that
provides major advantages: high
ground clearance, swaths remain
undamaged when driven over,
unrestricted reversing and improved
manoeuvrability. The new tedder is
also compact in storage: thanks to its
low storage height (2,70 m), it takes
up very little space.
NewSIPAIRcutting edgeswathing
technologyfromFarmec
The new SIP AIR 350F represents the cutting edge
of swathing technology. The SIP AIR concept
combines the patented flexible pick-up with the
cross belt transporter to provide high speed swathing
performance. The camless flexible pick-up spring tines
barely touch the ground to provide cleaner raking
with significantly reduced crop contamination.
The smaller diameter pick-up and its slow rotation enables
better forage flow with zero turbulence and reduced
leaf loss. Pick-up tine saver are standard equipment. The
robust linkage with hydro-pneumatic float system follows
the ground contours perfectly and provides excellent
responsiveness to changes in ground conditions. Height
control is provided by freely rotating discs supports
positioned close to the pick-up reel. The hydraulic drive
enables perfect crop flow to either side of the pick-up.
The AIR swather is available both in tractor mounted
and trailed options with working widths of 3.45 and 4.95
meters respectively. The swath width can be adjusted
between 0.50 and 1.20 meters. With tractor power up
to 120HP capacity is rated at up to 10 ha/h. The SIP
company is one of the leading suppliers of heavy duty
grass harvesting machinery. Based in Slovenia, SIP has
over 60 years’ experience in the manufacture of a full
range of mowers, tedders and rakes. Farmec Ireland Ltd.
are the sole importers for SIP heavy duty grass harvesting
machinery in Ireland including the Northern Ireland.
PöttingerHIT8.9T
28

Theroleoffibre
forBetterFeedUtilisation
The role of nutrition
for animals has always
concentrated on dry matter
intake, energy, protein and
minerals amongst other
nutritional parameters. Over
the years we are focusing
on trying to increase
productivity, but this needs
to happen through efficiency
gains otherwise there will be
no margin in it for the farmer.
Research, education and a willingness to learn new techniques
has allowed us to become bettermanagers of ouranimals and
farms overthe years, and so we are learning new methods in
orderto drive this efficiency in oursystems and animals.
Concentrate feeding; higherquality silage and otherideas
have pushed production highersometimes at the expense of
the animal but, more importantly, the rumen orstomach of
the animal. Forthis reason, fibre has become and even more
important parameterwhen it comes to production. Fibre drives
rumen health and in a simplistic way counteracts the energy of
the diet coming in the form of starch and sugars contained with
grain and grass etc. Excesses of these types of energy can lead
to acidosis in both dairy and beef cattle, lowerbutterfat formilk
production and can also lead to secondary issues like lameness. If
we compromise the rumen of the animal, we are shutting down
the engine of the animal and production and weight gain will
follow suit.
There has been increasing emphasis placed on achieving higher
quality and digestible forages, particularly grass silage. The fibre
content of these forages now acts more like energy so there is a
need foreffective long fibre to be added. Fibre can come in many
forms and perfect way to describe the difference is soya hulls
29
Author: Cathal Bohane, Head of InTouch Nutrition, Keenan/Alltech

22
21
Plot Area
20
19
18
17
Apr/Jun 13 Jul/Sept 13 Oct/Dec 13 Jan/Mar 14 Apr/Jun 14
Consistent Fibre PoorFibre and Consistency
and straw. Ifwe sent a sample of both to a laboratory, theywould
have similarlevels of fibre (NDF) but as we know in reality, they are
physicallyvery different. The straw provides a ‘scratch factor’ that
will stimulate cud chewing in the animal and will offera better
quality of fibre to the animal outside of nutrient quality.
The story only begins here as howwe present this to the cowwill
also have an effect. Offering free access to straw if cows have a
stomach upset, are loose orhave dropping butterfat levels will
not solve the issue as straw in itself is not the most palatable or
readily consumed. Hence the deliveryvia a Total Mixed Ration
(TMR) via a diet feederis the ideal way to deliverthis ingredient as
it is mixed with the otheringredients that could cause issues and
there is less opportunity forthe animal to sort the feed and select
the tastierparts of the diet.
Research by Keenan overthe years has furthershown that how
you mixyourTMR also has a large effect. On-farm studies over
a numberof decades has showed a 0.5kg increase in milkwith
0.7kg less dry matterintake (DMI) aftermixing the exact same
diet and ingredient proportions in two different ways. This backs
up the hypothesis that balancing yourration is important, but the
quality of the mix that you produce is equally as important. While
harvesting forages at the properchop length is critical, additional
attention should be paid to the process of feed mixing, as it may
result in large effects on the diet particle size and uniformity. Even
outside of the diet feeder’s ability to mix the feed properly there
are generally three diets fed on the farm: the one the nutritionist
created; the one the farmerthinks he orshe fed; and the one
the cows actually eat. These can be very different diets on some
farms, which is concerning. To reduce this erroron farms, we
need to constantly review and checkthe following in the mixing
process: Working condition of the diet feeder– blades, paddle
rubbers, weighing system, etc.
1. Loading orderof ingredients
2. Margin forerrorin the loading of individual ingredients
3. Mixing times
4. Post examination of total mixed ration (TMR) feed out for:
a. Moisture level
b. Chop length and type – is there effective fibre in there?
c. Consistency – is there equal proportions of feed
throughout?
d. Sorting present during the following 24 hours
e. What are refusals like?
An examination of 600 UK-based farmers who were operating
a diet feederin conjunction with a nutritionist who balanced
the diet versus similarfarmers who also monitoring theirmixing
process, ingredient addition accuracy and loading sequence.
Those that monitored theirprocess and applied best practice on
a daily basis were able to produce an extra 628litres of milk(45kg
MS) percow overthe course of the year.
By using the ideal operating procedure foryourfully functioning
diet feeder, the result is a homogenous mix – both chemically and
physically that leads to betterrumen health and a more efficient
conversion of feed into milkand thus less feed nutrients are lost
to the environment.Yourdiet feederand operatorplay a major
role in maintaining the fibre through the mixing process, and only
until we achieve this can we truly reach the potential of ourdiet.
Figure 1: Milkyield comparison of 600 UK based farms that fed a TMR based on standard operating
procedures for delivery consistency in chop length and type versus those that did not
Under processing of the TMRwill result in long material being sorted by the animal resulting
in the mix being unbalanced and potentially unsafe to feed, whereas over processing of
the TMR increases intake, which can be expensive and with less ‘effective’ fibre in the diet
now, then this can cause less chewing; less saliva to buffer the acidity and pH.
30

Starch, fibre, protein, sugars and Fats
are all essential nutrients the dairy
cow requires daily, with Professor
Palmquist stating manyyears ago
that in terms of fat nutrition, ‘Fat Out’
needs to be matched with ‘Fat In’!
Forexample, a cow giving 40 litres at 4 per cent butterfat
produces 1.6 kg of milk fat/day and therefore this is the
dietary fat requirement of the cow per day assuming no
change in bodyweight.
A basal diet typically contains 3 to 3.5 per cent fat in the dry
matter (DM), though very high yielding cows may require 6 to
8 per cent fat in the total DM diet. So, yes, fat is an essential
nutrient in every diet, but choose your supplementary fat with
care. Fats are made up of different fatty acids, and researchers
such as Professor Adam Lock at Michigan State University
(USA), have identified the differing role of individual fatty acids
in improving cow performance. This is ground-breaking work
that has helped extend the range of rumen-protected fats to
enable farmers and their animal nutrition advisers to amend
diets to suit individual farm circumstances, be it early, mid or
late lactation or indeed particular herd problems such as poor
fertility.
There are over400 fatty acids in milk, but only a handful of diet
fatty acids, such as C16:0, C18:1 and C18:3, allow us to improve
milkoutput and composition, fertility, herd health and even dairy
farming’s impact on the environment.
It has been proven that not only does the C16:0 (palmitic) fatty
acid boost milkfat percent, but it also favours partitioning of
nutrients towards milkproduction ratherthan the cow’s body fat
stores (body condition). By contrast, highly digestible C18:1 (oleic)
fatty acid, relative to C16:0 can favourpartitioning of nutrients
towards body tissue reserves (increased body condition score).
And of course it was already understood that C18.3 (linolenic)
fatty acid has a role in protecting embryo survival. One of the
more exciting aspects of ourincreased knowledge of fatty acids
is how the ratio of these to each otherin the dairy diet offers
opportunities forextra herd income.
By applying recent majoradvances in ourunderstanding of how
fatty acids workin the bovine digestive system, farm businesses
can gain extra yield and a highermilkfat percent plus improve
calving indexes. Megalac of course has been shown in many
studies to reduce average calving index.
But remember, ‘unprotected’ fats are at riskof rumen
biohydrogenation which means that the valuable C18:1 and
C18:3 fatty acids are converted to the less digestible C18:0. So a
rumen-protected product such as Mega-Max, the new product
from *Volac Wilmarwith an optimum balance of C16:0 and C18:1
fatty acids is a guaranteed way of ensuring dietary C18:1 fatty
acids are delivered to the abomasum to have a positive effect on
bovine metabolism: optimum milkproduction, fertility and body
condition throughout lactation.
Feed the right balance of fatty acids to meet yourherds
requirements and balance the total fat in the diet to meet
the daily fat need - remember‘Fat Out’ needs to be matched
with ‘Fat In’ (at zero energy balance) and ensure yourchosen
supplementary feed fat is fully rumen-protected.
*Volac WilmarFeed Ingredients is a new global company jointly
owned byVolac and WilmarInternational Ltd.
Feedingtherightfattyacidsat
therighttimetotherightcow
31
Author: Dr Richard Kirkland, Global Technical Manager,
Volac Winter Feed Ingredients Ltd.

In relation to gaseous emissions agriculture accounts for33 per
cent of national GHG emission and 98 percent of ammonia
emissions and as a consequence is underthe spotlight to reduce
emissions. The use of protected urea nitrogen fertiliseris the
largest single avenue currently open to Irish agriculture to meet
these commitments to reduce GHG and ammonia emissions.
UNDERSTANDING PROTECTED UREA AND HOW IT WORKS
What is protected urea?
Protected urea is urea which is treated with an active ingredient
called a urease inhibitor. The urease inhibitorcan be either
a) coated onto the outside of the fertilisergranule orb)
incorporated into the urea granule melt during manufacture.
How does a urease inhibitorworkand what role does it play in
stopping ammonia loss?
Urease is the enzyme which catalyses the conversion of urea
to ammonium. It is during this conversion that ammonia gas
is lost from untreated urea (Figure 2). A urease inhibitorblocks
the active site of the urease enzyme. This moderates the rate at
which urea converts to ammonium. In so doing ammonia loss is
reduced to low levels.
Figure 2. Conversion of nitrogen forms and N loss avenues
Protectedurea:
whatisit,doesitwork,andisitcosteffective?
Ireland has a very favourable climate for growing its largest crop, grass.
To achieve grass growth potential, fertiliser nitrogen (N) is a key input.
However, fertiliser nitrogen also plays a role in gaseous N losses and
water quality. The Irish Government has committed to reduce national
losses of both ammonia and the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide
(Figure 1) while achieving good status for all waters.
Figure 1. Greenhouse gas and Ammonia sources and reduction commitments
Energy 19.7%
Residential 10.1%
Manufacturing 7.6%
Services 2.9%
Transport 19.8%
Industry 3.3%
Gases 1.9%
Agriculture 33%
Waste 1.7%
Amonia Gas Greehouse Gas
Urea
O
C
H2
N NH2
Ammonium
H
N
H
H
H
+
Nitrate
O
N
O O
-
NitrificationHydrolysis
Urease
Unrease inhibitor
Leaching
EU Commission’s
Climate and Energy
Package 20% below
2005 levels by 2020
30% below by 2030
National Emissions
Ceiling Directive 1%
below 2005 to 2030
5% below 2005 from
2030 onwards
32
Authors: Patrick Forrestal, Cathal Somers,
Mark Plunkett,
David Wall,
Tom O’Dwyer, Teagasc

WON’T A SLOWING OFTHE CONVERSION FROM UREA
AFFECT THE AVAILABILITY OFN FOR THE GRASS CROP?
No, because the conversion of protected urea to ammonium
begins as soon as the fertilisergranule starts to melt. The urease
inhibitormoderates the rate at which the urea-N converts to
ammonium. The result is that the conversion occurs overperiod
of a few days ratherthan a few hours, as would be the case with
conventional urea. Remember, when fertiliserN is applied to soil
its aim is to supply the grass orcrop with N overa period of days
to weeks ratherthan hours.
Are there different urease inhibitors used to manufacture
protected urea? What are they?
Yes, the following products are recognised as acting effectively
as urease inhibitors: a) NBPT b) 2-NPT, c) NBPT+NPPT. Teagasc
has conducted research with all three inhibitoroptions, most
extensivelywith NBPT and NBPT+NPPT.
Are these approved foruse in Ireland?
Yes, these active ingredients are approved foruse by the
European Chemicals Agency through the Registration,
Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH)
process.
Can I spread protected urea throughout the growing season?
Yes, you can spread protected urea across the growing season
at times when you would otherwise spread calcium ammonium
nitrate (CAN) orunprotected urea. This may potentially simplify
the fertiliserspreading programme on the farm and setting up of
fertiliserspreaderforonly 1 straight N product each year.
PROTECTED UREA EFFECTS ON PRODUCTION
Will using protected urea reduce yields?
No, published Teagasc trials (Figure 3) have shown that protected
urea consistentlyyields as well as CAN in Irish grasslands with no
difference in annual production between the two fertilisers.
14000 Summary of 30 application timings at 3 sites over 2 years
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
Adapted fromForrestal et al . (2017) Soil Use & Mgt. 33:243:241

0 100 200 300
Annual N rate (kg N/ha)
Grassdrymatteryield(kg/ha)
Urea +NBPT
CAN
Figure 3a. Summary of total annual grass dry matteryield (kg/ha)
for CAN and protected urea evaluated across 2 growing seasons (2 years) on
three soils (locations)
33

Will using protected urea reduce efficiency?
No, published Teagasc trials conducted in different areas of
Ireland have shown that the nitrogen recovery efficiency of
protected urea and CAN are consistently the same (Figure 4).
350 Summary of 30 application timings at 3 sites over 2 years
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
Adapted fromForrestal et al . (2017) Soil Use & Mgt. 33:243:241

0 100 200 300
Annual N rate (kg N/ha)
Nitrogenuptakebygrass(kgN/ha)
Urea +NBPT
CAN
Figure 3b. Summary of N recovery (off take kg/ha N) for CAN and protected urea
evaluated on 30 occasions (application timings) conducted across the growing
season on three soils over two years.
Is protected urea cost effective?
On 14 March 2019 the following costs detailed in Table 1 were
quoted. These costs show protected urea to be less costly than
CAN while performing just as well in terms ofyield (Figure 2) and
N recovery efficiency (Figure 3). Bearin mind that fertilisercosts
fluctuate but always make the cost comparison on the basis of
cost perkg N forstraight N products.
FertiliserNproduct Ncontent(%) Costpertonne(€) Cost/kgN(€)
Urea 46% 391 0.85
Protected urea 46% 437 0.95
CAN 27% 284 1.05
Table 1. Prices in € per tonne fertiliser and € per kg N delivered for the three main
fertiliser N types available as per 14 March 2019
Does protected urea reduce Emissions? Does protected urea
reduce loss of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide?
Yes, published Teagasc trials have shown that protected urea has
71 percent lowernitrous oxide emissions than CAN (Figure 4).
Figure 5. Effect of fertiliser N selection on emissions of ammonia (NH3)
Does protected urea reduce loss of Ammonia?
Yes, based on published Teagasc research protected urea has
comparable ammonia loss to CAN and ammonia loss is reduced
by 79 percent compared to urea (Figure 5).
Is there potential forprotected urea to reduce nitrate
loss to water?
Yes, during periods when leaching occurs nitrate present in the
soil is vulnerable to leaching loss. Protected urea does not deliver
N directly as nitrate to the soil, therefore reducing the riskof
nitrate losses occurring with rainfall post fertiliserapplication.
Reduced ammonia loss compared to urea will also reduce the
riskof ammonia N being deposited from the atmosphere onto
sensitive habitats orinto sensitive waterbodies.
SUMMARY
Use of protected urea can reduce agricultural greenhouse gas
emissions and ammonia emissions while maintaining yield and
saving cost.
GHG
EMISSIONS
AMMONIA EMISSIONS
LEVEL HIGH LOW
HIGH CAN
LOW UREA PROTECTED
UREA
Table 2. Relative greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions from three N fertilisers
25
20
15
10
5
0
CAN Urea Urea + NBPT
Urea: EMEP/EEA emission inventoryvalue used in Irish NH3 inventory
CAAN and Urea+NBPT: by applying NH3 abatement of Forrestal et al.,
Soil Use & Mgt. 32:92-100
Ammonia-Nlossfromfertilisers(%)
85%
Reduction
79%
Reduction
Figure 4. Effect of fertiliser N selection on emissions of the potent
greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O)
2.0
Indirect N20 from NH3 Direct N20
1.5
1.0
0.1
0.5
0
CAN Urea Urea + NBPT
Direct N20: Harty et al., 2016 Science of the Total Environment 563-564-586 Indirect N20
from NH3 based on EMEP, Forrestal et al., 2016 Soil Use & Mgt. 32:92-100 &IPCC Default EF
NitrousOxide-(N20)lossfromFertilisers(%)
73%
Reduction
71%
Reduction
34

SPS was the overall winner of the Enterprise Ireland
innovation arena awards at the National Ploughing
Championships in 2017 and also won first place in the young
innovatorcategory of the competition.
Solarpump sales have been very strong since the launch, with
subsequent media attention and word of mouth driving sales.
Timing has also helped sales too. Overthe last three years, many
farmers entering GLAS had to fence off theirrivers and streams
from cattle. The GLAS scheme would not accept drinking points
either, which meant an alternative approach forsourcing water
had to be found. Applicants with out- farms were particularly
impacted as electricity might not be available to set up a bored
well and a mains supply might not be available close by. However,
the SPS pumps takes waterfrom a bored well and supplies water
troughs forcattle in paddocks using the free solarenergy.
ORIGINAL SOLUTION
The original solarpump was mainly designed to workusing water
from streams and rivers. It could also be used in wells. The solar
pump unit was fixed to the ground besides the stream facing
south (this can be bolted down to a concrete base orcattle slat if
desired). The main components include photovoltaic (PV) solar
panels, which operate all year-round, a waterpressure vessel,
waterpump, solarbattery, suction pipe and a lockable galvanised
steel container. The solarpanel provides enough energy during
the day to keep the large 12Vbattery charged to powerthe water
pump, even in dull weather. Wateris sucked in through the inlet
pipe and pumped through the outlet pipe at high pressure.
The pump is automatically operated by a pressure switch, the
same way as a mains electrical waterpump. When the pressure
in the vessel drops, i.e. when the troughs are no longerfull, the
pressure switch turns on the waterpump.
The waterpump runs until the maximum preset pressure is
reached in the vessel. This allows numerous troughs to be
supplied at one time. This system is ideal forout farms and means
farmers can divide theirout farms into paddocks and make better
use of grass because they are no longerrelying on one drinking
point in a field. The largerunit is capable of powering a 1.5hp
submersible pump with the capacity to supply up to 24,000 litres/
day. This system can operate with wells of up to 400ft in depth. It
can pump water2.5km in distance and up to 200ft above ground.
Until recently a farmermight have had had to run a petrol
generatorto powera submersible pump to supplywaterfrom a
deep well on the farm every day. The generatorand fuel obviously
cost money as did boring the well.
Now the SPS system arrives on site ready to use. A submersible
pump is lowered into the existing well and the steel unit with
three solarpanels, with a fold-out design, is placed beside the
well to powerthe pump. The new system supplies high-pressure
waterforthe cattle, with no need forthe generatororexpensive
fuel. The farmeris very happywith his newwatersystem, as it
frees up his time, takes less effort and has reduced costs.
All systems come with a 12-month warranty and are delivered to
site ready to use. An SPS-35, capable of supplying waterfor50
adult cattle, costs €1,595 excludingVAT. A largerSPS-70 costs
€1,995 excludingVAT, which can caterforup to 100 cattle.
An SPS-250 costs €4,500 to €5,500 excludingVAT, depending on
the type of pump used which is subject to the depth of the well.
This system can caterforup to 150 dairy cows or350 adult cattle.
The price of the system is dependent on the size of the batteries,
the size of the pump and numberof solarpanels needed.
Additions such as GSM remote control and monitoring of the
systems are also now available.
Batteries and pumps have a usable life of six to eight years and
solarpanels have a design life of 25 years. The largerunits can
also run a mains electric fencerof up to 10 output joules.
Solarsolutions
forwateringlivestock
Since the launch of Solar
Pump Solutions (SPS),
Bryan Davis and Katie King
have been very busy. The
company designs and
manufactures a range of
solar-powered pumps
that can drive water from
watercourses and wells to
drinking troughs and tanks.
35

This article outlines some of the factors driving the increase
in farm building recently and looks at ways to finance this
investment. We review the impact of theVAT refund, a grant,
capital allowances, interest relief and the marginal income
tax rate on the out-of-pocket cost of an investment.
DRIVERS AND REASONS FOR INVESTING
The regulatory frameworkdriving environmental requirements
such as the Nitrates Directive combined with cross compliance
and the threat to a farmer’s Basic Payment, have acted as ‘push’
factors driving the increase in building activity. The obvious ‘pull’
factors are expansion in dairying by existing dairy farmers and
new entrants. In addition, TAMS 2 grants combined with capital
allowances, and the relatively low interest rates in historical terms
have generated building investment. Other‘pull’ factors include:
a need forincreased labourefficiency on dairy and part-time
farms; the need to retain staff on largerfarms; orimproving the
efficiency of the farm system.
VALUE OFFARM BUILDINGS
The value of a building from a purely financial return perspective
may be difficult to determine. This is largely due to the fact that
at the time of the investment it is unknown how long the useful
life of the investment will be and the difficulty in determining
its residual orterminal value afterthis time. Slurry storage
and animal housing may be of use to an existing farmernow
who plans to farm forthe next ten years, afterthat point these
facilities will still have a value and will undoubtedly increase
the rental demand forthe farmer’s whole farm. In the future it
may be difficult to rent out this land without slurry storage and
animal housing and the cost of putting it in place at that stage
may be prohibitive. In general, buildings done to a high standard
will be useful fora long time and maywell hold theirvalue as
replacement costs increase overtime.
Farmers will continue to invest on farms provided they believe,
that they can finance the investment, that the new investment
will allow them to betterutilise theirexisting resources, orthat the
non-financial benefits, combined with the financial benefits, will
make the investment worthwhile.
FINANCING THE INVESTMENT
The most obvious is a loan, the cost ofwhich is the interest to be
Investmentinfarm
buildingsandfacilities
Farming in Ireland is changing rapidly. Dairy farmers are expanding and Teagasc is getting
numerous queries from farmers who want to start a dairy business. All of this means
unprecedented demand for new or expanded milking facilities, cow housing and paddock
infrastructure. Hundreds of partnerships and farm companies have been formed.
36
Authors: Tom Ryan, Teagasc (retired); Kevin Connolly and Fintan Phelan, Teagasc Financial
Specialists; and Tom Fallon, Teagasc Farm Buildings and Infrastructure Specialist

repaid. A site orotherasset may be sold to generate cash. There
may be a loss of some income from the asset and there may also
be transaction costs and capital taxation. Personal funds may be
used but there is an opportunity cost of savings forgone, and any
return these funds were earning.
When meeting the financial institution it is important to have
one’s home workdone.You need to knowwhat the total cost
of the building is includingVAT.You need to know how much of
the cost isVAT and how much of a grant you will receive. This will
need to be financed in the short-term until theVAT is repaid and
the grant can be claimed. Forthis amount of money a short-term
loan orbridging loan should be set up. It should be possible to
reclaim this moneywithin six months but in some cases there
can be delays, it is therefore advised to put the bridging facility in
place forup to 12 months. When negotiating the rate of the main
loan aim also to get the bridging finance at that rate.
The period of the loan should be set so as not to put too much
pressure on the business. When calculating the repayment
period, take into account living costs and any othercosts that
may be expected overthe period. Decide the frequency of the
repayments and the time ofyearof the payment.
Trying to pay off a loan too quickly can put pressure on the
business cash flow and impact on otherfinancial commitments.
If possible aim to repay the loan overthe period of reclaiming
capital allowances as the cash flow benefit from tax savings will
help with repayments. Repayment periods of up to 15 years are
available forfarm building loans. Interest rates can be negotiated
and are presently in the region of 5 to 6 percent. However, the
new low interest loan (4.5 percent) recently introduced can be
used forfunding farm building investment.
INCOME TAX AND CAPITAL ALLOWANCES
Capital allowances are the method forallowing income tax
relief forlarge capital expenditure. The Revenue Commissioners
have criteria detailing what can be claimed and the period for
those claims. Buildings attract aVAT rate of 13.5 percent on the
gross cost of the building when constructed by a builder. Any
expenditure on the building at the 23 percentVAT rate can also
be reclaimed. TheVAT can be reclaimed straight away forflat rate
farmers who are not registered forVAT. Capital allowances are
allowed on the net cost of the building so theVAT reclaim and any
grant paid are excluded from the allowance. Capital allowances
can be claimed overa seven yearcycle. The net cost of the
building is allowed as an expense against income tax at a rate of
15 percent perannum forthe first sixyears and 10 per cent in the
final year. The tax relief forloan repayments is only on the interest
portion of the loan, so the principal portion must be met by the
farmerout of aftertax income. Trying to pay off a loan too quickly
can therefore put extreme pressure on cash flow in the business.
This can lead to a requirement forshort-term debt, e.g. overdraft,
to finance working capital which is generallyvery expensive and
in effect means you are paying interest on two loans.
EXAMPLE
In ourexample we lookat farm partnership investing in facilities
costing €136,000 includingVAT or€120,000 excludingVAT. It
could be a farm partnership between father/motherand son/
daughterwho applied fora grant underthe young farmercapital
investment scheme (YFCIS) of TAMS 2. The parent is eligible for
a 40 percent grant and the son/daughteris eligible fora 60 per
cent grant. The maximum ceiling on investment is €80,000 for
each partner. In this example the value of the grant potentially
is €64,000 (€80,000 @ 60 percent and €40,000 @ 40 percent),
so the net cash cost to the farmeris €56,000. Table 1 outlines
the benefit theVAT refund, the grant, the capital allowances and
interest relief all have on the cash cost of the investment at both
low and high marginal tax rates. The marginal income tax rate
has a huge impact on the overall cash cost of the investment.
The cash cost on the low tax rate is €52,059 and is €36,980 for
someone on the high rate.
1. Vat reclaim @ 13.5 per cent
2. If the reference costs lag behind the actual costs the grant
will be smaller, so the loan needed and interest paid will be
higher. Any tax saving from capital allowances and interest
reliefwill be greater and the after tax cost will be higher.
Lowrate20%plus7.5%levies Highrate40%plus8.5%levies
Totalcost€ 136,000 136,000
VATreclaim€(1) 16,000 16,000
Grant€(2) 64,000 64,000
Netcost€ 56,000 56,000
Bridgingfinancecostfor @6%for6months
forVATandgrant(3)€
2400 2400
Mainloaninterest;€56,000@6%for7years€(3) 13405 13405
Costbeforeinterestreliefandcapitalallowances;netcost+interestpaid€ 71,805 71,805
Taxsavingduetocapitalallowanceson€56,000atthetax+leviesrate€ 15,405 27,160
Taxsavingduetotaxreliefonloaninterest;interestpaidatthetax+leviesrate€ 4346 7665
Aftertaxcost€ 52,059 36,980
Table 1. Effect of the VAT refund, grant, capital allowances and interest relief on the cash cost of the
investment at low rate and high rate marginal tax rates
37

3. Finance at 6 per cent for both bridging (six months) and
main loan (seven years)
Table 2 shows the huge impact of not availing of the grant on the
aftertax cost of the investment.

INTEREST RATE EFFECT
Anotherimportant aspect is the effect of interest rate on
borrowing. The effect of an increase in interest rates is not as
great as one might expect due to the tax relief on interest paid.
However, fora farmerwho is a low rate tax payerorpaid no
income tax the effect of a higherinterest rate would be much
greater.
FORMING A COMPANY
Investment in farm buildings has such an impact on taxation, that
forsome farmers, it can delay the significant step of forming a
company. Financial advice should be sought.
STAYING ON TRACK
Farm building projects need to be planned and managed
carefully so that they come in on budget. Give yourself plenty
of time forthe planning process. Decisions need to be made
on what to build and where to locate it. Lookat all the options.
Prepare detailed drawings. Good drawings are essential for
looking at options, making design decisions, getting quotations,
applying forplanning permission, preparing TAMS applications
and building to plan.
Ideally get itemised quotations orat least know how much the
project is going to cost and what workis and is not included in the
quotation. Have both parties sign the quotation which will form
the basis of a simple contract. This will hold the agreed price and
outline stage payments schedule. The quotation should indicate
worknot being undertaken by the builderas well as what will
be done. Do not take on extra workduring the project without
an agreed price in advance. If there are different trades and
suppliers firm quotations need to be got from these also. Allow
forcosts that often are not included on quotations e.g. planning
application, planning fees, development contributions; site
preparation, excavation, purchase of fill and supply of equipment
like automatic scrapers, cubicle mats, etc.
Do not hand control of purchase of spending/ordering to
someone else (unless you have a contract and the builderhas
agreed to do all the concrete work, etc.). A typical example is
handing control of ordering concrete to yourbuilderwhile you are
paying forit; this may lead to increased costs because price may
not be agreed, use of higherpriced part-loads may be excessive,
use of conveyers at will – all ofwhich increase the average
price percubic metre substantially above a price mentioned in
conservation oroverthe phone.Verbal prices can be lowerthan
amount due on the bill.
Ifyou are applying fora TAMS 2 grant it is important to make sure
all the terms and conditions are adhered to. Works need to be
completed to the DAFM specifications and works and payment
claim need to be completed on time.
CONCLUSIONS
There has been a huge upswing in farm building activity in
the last fewyears. While there is an increasing need to provide
facilities forexpansion in dairying and improve labourefficiency,
the attractive grant rate and the greaterenvironmental demands
on agriculture are still important drivers of farm building
investment.
XX Farm facilities cost a lot of money. It is a good time, before
a significant investment, for the farmer and their family to
review their medium to long term plan.
XX Buildings can easily go over budget, it is vital to devote
adequate time to planning and managing the process.
XX The aim for farmers must be to arrange or manage any
farm debt to reduce its overall impact on farm income.
Most farmers will expand output to meet repayments but
curtailing costs is also vital.
XX Available capital allowances are a major help in reducing the
cost of an investment. The marginal rate of income tax paid
by the farmer has a large effect on the overall out-of-pocket
cost of the investment. With the amount of money involved
it is vital for every farmer to make best deal possible when
negotiating for finance and to consult with their adviser and
accountant on how best to avail of the capital allowances.
XX In the example outlined the TAMS 2 grant has a major
impact on the after tax cost of the investment.
Low rate 20% plus 7.5% levies High rate 40% plus 8.5% levies
Totalcost€ 136,000 136,000
VATreclaim€(1) 16,000 16,000
Grant€(2) 64,000 64,000
Netcost€ 56,000 56,000
Bridgingfinancecostfor@6%for6monthsforVATandgrant(3)€ 2400 2400
Mainloaninterest;€56,000@6%for7years€(3) 13405 13405
Costbeforeinterestreliefandcapitalallowances;netcost+interestpaid€ 71,805 71,805
Taxsavingduetocapitalallowanceson€56,000atthetax+leviesrate€ 15,405 27,160
Taxsavingduetotaxreliefonloaninterest;interestpaidatthetax+leviesrate€ 4346 7665
Aftertaxcost€ 52,059 36,980
Table 2. Effect ofVAT refund, capital allowances and interest relief on the cash cost of the investment for low
rate and high rate marginal tax rates. Same scenario, no grant applied for.
38

The recent rise in both fertilizer N and
concentrate feed prices have focused the
minds and pockets on leguminous crops
such as red clover and white clover as a
way of reducing these costs.
Both crops have many benefits but have not been grown in a widespread
mannermainly due to the extra management required at farm level,
i.e. the management challenge of establishing and managing cloverin
the sward versus spreading N fertiliserto a grass monoculture. However,
the benefits of growing and feeding such crops are clearand with the
renewed focus on greenhouse gas emissions, agro-ecology and organic
farming, red and white clovercan and will play an increasing role in
quality forage production and sustainable agriculture.
CLEAR BENEFITS
White and red cloverare the most common form of forage based
leguminous crops grown in Ireland. Both have the ability to fix
atmospheric N and convert it to plant available N in the soil through the
rhizobia bacteria located in the root nodules of the plant. Because of
this, they have the potential to reduce orin the case of organic systems,
eliminate the need forartificial nitrogen on many farms and potentially
increase the nutritive value of the feed.
Apart from the ability of cloverto fix nitrogen, cloverincreases protein
levels, mineral content, general nutrient value and feed intake of
livestockforage versus grass only swards.
Table 1: Main features ofwhite and red clover
FeaturesandadvantagesofWhiteClover FeaturesandadvantagesofRedClover
Creeping multi-branched growth across soil surface - stoloniferous growth.
Upright growth habit with stems which grow upwards from a crown at the base of the stem,
strong deep tap root.
Principally best suited to grazing but 1 cut silage/year is commonly harvested.
Principally suited to silage cutting and fertility building only,
2 to 4 silage cuts per year are commonly harvested.
Can fix ~100 kg N/ha/year.
Can fix ~ 200kg N/ha/year.
Normally sown with a companion grass (85:25 grass to white clover ratio);
alternatively can be over-sown at 5kg/ha.
Normally sown in a “full-re-seed” with a companion grass (eg. 50:50 grass:red clover ratio).
Grass clover-swards: High yielding 11-13 tonne D.M./ha/year.
Grass -red clover swards.Very high yielding 12 – 16 tonnes D.M./ha with no fertiliser N
required. Particularly high yields are achievable during mid-season (June -August). See
Figures 1 and 2.
Grass-white clover swards: Very high protein 20-25% approx. Grass-red clover swards: Very high protein 15-20% approx.
Can persist for up to 10 years in sward.
Usually persists for 3-4 years in sward, although recent research from Teagasc shows the
crop can last for significantly longer (6 years+).
Redandwhitecloverswardsandtheir
benefitstolivestockandsilagesystems
39
Dan Clavin, Organic Specialist, Teagasc Farm Management and Rural
Development Department, Athenry, Co. Galway

Figure 1: Annual yield of red clover-grass silage versus grass only silage + zero
N vs grass only silage +200kg N/ha over 6 years (source: Teagasc, Grange). See
power point slide attached.
Figure 2: Yield (tonnes DM
ha) of red clover-perennial ryegrass sward
versus perennial ryegrass only (PRG) plus N to
maximise yield per cut. 6 year study (source:
Teagasc Grange). See graph attached.
EFFECT ON ANIMAL
PERFORMANCE
White Clover: White clovergrazed
swards have higherdigestibility,
protein and mineral content than grass-only grazed swards.
Unlike grass, white cloverretains it digestibility throughout the
season, as there is continual renewal of leaves and little stem
development.
Red clover: Protein content is particularly high in red clover
silage versus grass only silage. Feed value is often greaterthan it
appears on a silage analysis depending on the laboratory method
used, unless wet chemistry forprotein content is used. A further
benefit of red cloversilage feeding is an increase in beneficial
polyunsaturated fatty acid in both meat and milk.
The potential ofwhite and red cloversilages can be clearly seen
from an experiment at Teagasc Grange where a comparison was
made between silages made from swards of grass, lucerne (aka
alfalfa), red cloverand grass/white clover(Table 2).
Both red cloverand particularly lucerne were more difficult to
preserve satisfactorily, howeverdue to higherintake level, the
mean liveweight gains were higherforsilages containing clover
orlucerne.
Table 2: Comparison of average daily live-weight gains
between 4 different silage diets
Silagecrop Averagedailyliveweightgain(LWG)kg
Grass silage 0.59
Lucerne 0.72
Red clover 1.04
Grass/white clover 0.83
Source: Teagasc Grange.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHALLENGES?
Despite the potential benefits of clover, there has been a limited
uptake in it’s use. This is mainly associated with management
challenges such as incorrect soil fertility, the seasonal growth
pattern of clover, the change in grassland management required
to establish and maintain the crop and the possible riskof
bloat. Although not commonly encountered in Ireland, there
is a riskof pests and diseases in the case of red clover(a 5 year
breakbetween crops is recommended) and it is recommended
to wilt red cloversilage for24-48 hours to reduce the riskof an
unsatisfactory silage fermentation.
Bloat: Although bloat is a risk, it is rare on farms with good
management in place. Avoid allowing animals getting too
hungry before being allowed to graze clover-rich pastures, which
mostly occurduring the late Summerand early Autumn. The risk
of bloat in white orred cloversilage is negligible
WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO GET CLOVER INTO THE SWARD?
White cloverswards: In the case ofwhite clover, over–sowing
orbroadcasting white cloveronto existing pastures has a 70%
success rate. Broadcasting aftermid-June can lead to a high
rate of failure as moist soil conditions are critical and light soils
especially may get too dry. In addition, swards tend not to be
as open in mid to late season which is critical forthe soil–seed
contact necessary forcloverto germinate. For these reasons,
if introducing white cloveraftermid-June, the best chance of
getting it established is by carrying out a full re-seed through
ploughing orminimum cultivation techniques. This workshould
be completed no laterthan mid to late August in orderto get the
sward well established before Winter. Tight grazing both before
and afterover-sowing is essential to ensure success.
Red Cloverswards: Re-seeding through ploughing and
minimum cultivation techniques is the recommended
method of establishment. Over-sowing orbroadcasting is
not recommended as the red cloverseedling is less unlikely to
emerge from a situation where grass has a “head-start” and
where grazing is a risky option due to possible damage to the
emerging crown of the plant which sits above the ground.
WHAT TYPE OFCLOVER SHOULD BE
USED WHEN RE-SEEDING?
White cloverswards: The recommended sowing rate is 2.5 to 5.0
kg/ha white cloverseed. Normally 2 varieties are sown as different
varieties offerdifferent benefits (viz. yield, persistency). In the
case of a full re-seed, the cloverseed is sown with 25 to 30kg/ha
perennial ryegrasses.
Recommended varieties best suited to Irish conditions can be
40

found on the DAFM website. https://www.agriculture.gov.ie/
Red cloverswards: A typical seed rate fora red cloverdominant
sward is 15 kg/ha of red cloverand 15 kg/ha of grass. A typical
seed rate fora grass dominant sward is 7.5 kg/ha of red clover
and 22 kg/ha of grass. Typical companion grasses used are
intermediate heading perennial ryegrasses and/orhybrid grasses.
An additional 2.5 kg/ha ofwhite clovermay be added to the
seed mix, if required. Recommended varieties best suited to
Irish conditions can be found on the Agri-Food and Biosciences
Institute website. www.afbini.gov.uk
HOW DO I MANAGE AND KEEP CLOVER IN THE SWARD?
WHITE CLOVER SWARDS:
White cloveris now included in most mixtures when re-seeding
but there is often very little active management of swards
afterwards to optimise the contribution of cloverto animal
performance. 80% of the success of getting cloverestablished is
in the post-sowing management. Well managed cloverswards
can last up to 10 years. To achieve this, there are a numberof key
elements essential to managing white cloverswards:
Tight grazing is essential. Cloverrequires light and does not
tolerate shading from grass.
1. Down to 4 cm between turnout and mid-April.
2. Down to 5 cm during the main grazing season.
3. Graze the sward to 4 cm before it is closed forthe Winter.
4. Avoid heavy covers overthe Winter- ifyou do get them
grazed by early March.
XX Avoid poaching, especially during the Winter months.
Poaching can damage the clover stolons, stopping them
from spreading.
XX Rotation of silage and grazing fields is recommended.
XX Clover requires good levels of soil fertility (pH levels 6.5 to
7.0 and Index 3 for P and K).
RED CLOVER SWARDS:
XX In the establishment year, red clover should normally be
allowed to flower before harvesting the first silage cut. This
is to help root development and the growth of the bacteria
that fix Nitrogen. However, harvest early instead if this
prevents weeds setting seed or if the red clover appears to
be swamped by the grass.
XX In subsequent years, harvest at intervals of 6 to 8 weeks
re-growth at any time between bud development and
flowering.
XX Up to four cuts can be taken each year. About 80-90%
of the annual yield will be obtained from silage cuts
completed by late July-early August. Cut or graze off
the herbage in October, if this can be achieved without
poaching, soil compaction and physical damage to the
plant crowns which exist.
XX Cut silage crops at 7-8 cm height above ground level so
as to avoid damage to the crown of the plant which sits
above the ground. If grazing is carried out in the Autumn,
use only lighterweighing cattle so as to avoid damage to
the crown and only carry out in dry conditions. Optimum
grazing height of aftermaths is 6 cm above ground level.
Avoid grazing red cloverwith ewes sixweeks before or after
tupping.
XX Optimum over-wintering height is 4-6 cm above ground
level. This is important in order to allow clover to compete
with grass the following Spring when the clover is slower to
establish in comparison to grass in early Spring.
XX Soil fertility: Conduct a soil test and target soil pH of 6.0-
6.5 and Index 3 for P and K for successful establishment
and crop yields. The harvested crop utilises phosphorus (P)
and potassium (K) at similar levels to harvested grass silage
only crops and these will need to be replaced at the same
rates as recommended for grass silage crops.
XX Fertlisers: Due to the high Nitrogen content of the crop,
no extra N fertilizer is required to ensure an adequate
yield and quality of red clover crops with research from
Teagasc showing that even at low levels of N application
(50 kg N/ha/year applied in Spring) that both yield
and crop persistency is supressed. Therefore it is not
recommended to use N fertilizers as part of the fertiliser
plan. Slurry and FYM can be applied throughout the year
including between cuts. FYM should be well rotted prior to
application. Avoid applying slurry or cutting silage in wet
weather as damage to the plant crowns directly bywheel
damage and indirectly through soil compaction will reduce
red cloveryield and persistency.
Transition paths to sustainable legume-based systems in
Europe (TRUE) has received funding from the European Union’s
Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme undergrant
agreement No. 727973.
41

Growing and whole-cropping cereals (wheat, barley and maize) became
popular through the late 1990s. The practice has since become common place
on some dairy farms and has been abandoned on others forvarious reasons,
not least variability in yield and quality. The area of forage maize for example
rose rapidly to a peak in 2008 and has since declined as farmers make more
informed decisions based on yield and financial viability of the crop.
WHEN SHOULD I CONSIDER THE
INCLUSION OFAN ALTERNATIVE FORAGE?
The inclusion of an alternative forage (specificallywhole cropped
cereal) should be considered;
XX Forhigh yielding dairy cows
XX Where 3 ormore cuts of silage are being taken and
XX Where milkfrom forage orconcentrate feed rate are being
targeted on the farm
In practice all three of these points are features of many dairying
systems in Northern Ireland today and so consideration of these
crops should be given some time. In addition to the benefits
of alternative forages in the diet of the dairy cow the growing
season of 2018 highlighted anotherbenefit of alternative
forages. While grass silage yields in eastern counties suffered
greatly in the dry summerweather, crops like maize and winter
sown cereals continued to thrive and yielded betterthan other
years. This gives the added benefit of hedging yourbets between
various forages both in terms ofyield and quality everyyear.
Which forage is best formy situation?
Of all the options available, maize with the correct management
and a good growing conditions will provide the best quality and
yield. Howeverformany farmers land type, spring and autumn
weatherconditions and ground conditions will rule this crop
out. An extensive technology project carried out by CAFRE over
5 years showed that maize should be sown around the end of
the first weekin April, undercoverand harvested in late October
when the plant has naturally begun to yellow and dry. Ifyou
cannot meet these date targets forage maize is not an option.
Next best aftermaize and a crop that is much more reliable year
in, yearout in ourlocal climate is whole-cropped winterwheat. To
maximise yield and quality this crop must be grown in the same
way as a crop being grown forcombining. The only difference
being that it is harvested a fewweeks before full grain ripeness.
It is essential to ensure the grain crackeron the forage harvester
is set correctly allowing the grains in the crop to be digested
by the dairy cow. This should be checked in the first load and
adjustments made if unprocessed grains are appearing.
Many farmers will also considercereals otherthan wheat such
Alternativeforages–
Wheredotheyfitin?
42
Author: Mark Scott, CAFRE Senior Dairying Development Adviser

as barley oroats orforexample spring sown cereals orcereals
undersown with grass. These crops may be an option in a
reseeding rotation howeverthey are a compromise to pure sown
winterwheat in terms ofyield and quality of the resulting feed.
FORAGE QUALITY
On the CAFRE Dairy unit maize and whole-crop wheat are grown
each yearand incorporated into the diet of the Future Herd.
The quality of each forage overthe last 5 years highlights the
consistent difference in overall energy content of the two crops
with maize averaging 11.9 ME and wheat averaging 10.1 ME. It
is howeveralso important to point out that both forages play a
role in rumen health and the rate of flow through the rumen by
adding additional fibre to the diet. This can reduce orremove the
need forthe inclusion of straw in the diet.
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
ME (MJ/kg/DM) 10.6 9.4 10.4 10.2 9.9
Crude Protein (%) 8.4 7.5 8.2 12.2 8.9
Dry matter (%) 50 56 47.3 49.7 49.3
Starch (%) 35 31 28.3 34.9 35.5
Quality of whole-crop wheat grown at Greenmount in the last 5 years
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
ME (MJ/kg/DM) 12.1 12.1 11.9 11.7 11.9
Crude Protein (%) 7.8 8.3 8.4 8.7 8
Dry matter (%) 35 31 32.9 35.2 37.2
Starch (%) 35 38 33 33.6 37.1
Quality of forage maize grown at Greenmount in the last 5 years
Effects of feeding whole-crop wheat and forage maize
The desired effect of feeding these alternatives is to increase
forage intake and improve rumen function where leafy, high
quality silage is being fed with higherlevels of meal. The overall
outcome should be increased yields, milkprotein and a healthier
cow. Research carried out by AFBI suggested that although
feeding whole-crop wheat increased forage intakes it did not
have a significant impact on milkproduction.
When feeding forage maize at Greenmount and comparing
this to feeding whole-crop wheat, similarforage intakes were
achieved, howevermilkyields and milkprotein increased and
overall condition of cows improved.
The additional fibre content of both forage maize and whole-crop
wheat does undoubtedly have a benefit on rumen health which is
very difficult to measure orquantify. Where multiple cuts of grass
silage are being taken and higherlevels of concentrate are being
fed acidosis can be a majorissue due to the rapid fermentation
taking place in the rumen. Any feed which increases the long
fibre content of the diet will reduce acid loading, and also reduce
the passage of feed through the rumen, therefore allowing more
nutrients to be used by the cow and betterrumen health.
The addition of straw orhay to the diet will also increase fibre
content but the issue here is that these forages will reduce the
energy content of the diet more greatly and will not increase
overall intakes in the way alternative forages will.
SUMMARY
XX Alternative forages such as whole-crop wheat and maize
have a place on farms where multiple cuts of leafy, high
quality silage are being fed and where milkfrom forage is a
focus.
XX The two main options are forage maize and whole-crop
winterwheat
XX Othercereals, undersown crops and spring sown crops will
compromise the quality and yield of the forage but may have
a place in reseeding rotations
XX Although forage maize will be betterquality than whole-crop
wheat, ground conditions and weathercan mean that wheat
is a more easily managed and consistent feed
XX When incorporated into the diet of dairy cows these feeds will
increase intakes, have a beneficial effect on milkproduction
and will improve overall rumen health
43

Cathal Swan, his wife Julie, their son Shane and David Hogan
B.Agr.Sc Agri Manager, Drummonds Ltd.
Co Meath sheep farmer Cathal Swan,
who runs a silage contracting service,
offers some recommendations for baling
Cathal Swan and his wife Julie and theirson Shane farm at Skyrne,
Tara in Co. Meath. They have a flockof 600 Texel x Suffolkewes
and sell theirlambs to Irish Country Meats in Navan. Lambs sold
perewe average 1.9 and lambing takes place in mid-January.
The ewes are fed on haylage and McCauley’s sheep ration. Many
of the ewes have more than two lambs so these extra lambs are
fostered by otherewes orreared on Lamlac ewe milkreplacer.
Cathal and Shane manage Swan Agri Ltd a successful family
silage contracting business which was established 35 years ago
in 1984 afterCathal finished his education. According to Cathal
“the sheep enterprise nicely complements the agri contracting
business which is less busy in the spring time.”
Swan Agri do silage contracting forlocal cattle, dairy and sheep
farmers. They also have some equine customers fortheirtop
quality haylage. In addition they spread slurry and manure for
local farmers. Theirmachinery includes a NC (fitted with a trailing
shoe) and Majorslurry tankers along with a Ktwo and Hi Spec
muckspreaders. In addition Swan Agri also provides a hedge
cutting service forlocal farmers and othercustomers.
The silage machinery includes five John Deere tractors, a John
Deere self-propelled silage harvester, a McHale F5500 forbaling
3-4,000 bales of hay and straw along with a McHale Fusion 3 plus
formaking 10,000 bales of grass silage. Cathal and Shane also
cut a few thousand acres of grass forpit silage.
Otherforage machinery includes John Deere mowers (front and
backcombinations), Claas and Kverneland tedders and other
equipment. Swan Agri offercustomers an all in service from
mowing to tedding, baling orclamping the silage. Shane trained
as a John Deere mechanic with Meath Farm Machinery so he is
able to maintain and service the machinery of season orduring
quiet periods in the business.
Afterusing the Baletite mantle film successfully to replace
netwrap fora two seasons on the recommendation of David
Hogan B.Agr.Sc, who is an Agri Managerwith Drummonds Ltd,
Cathal agreed to use the Silotite Pro in 2018. He had been having
problems with anotherbrand of balewrap so he found that “there
was a very good tackon this film.”
According to Cathal: “Using the Film and Film system -the
combination of the Baletite and Silotite Pro was definitely the
right decision. This is the way forward foranyone doing a big
volume of bales and has time constraints. Farmers using the Film
& Film system are happy that the extra cost of €1.50 perbale is
good value indeed. “
As a farmerhimself Cathal knows how important silage quality
is for milkproduction and liveweight gain with cattle and sheep.
Cathal says that using Baletite is more userfriendly than netwrap,
EwecanrelyonthisRoyal
CountyFarmcontractor
44
Author: Lloyd Dawson, RPC bpi agriculture

bales hold theirshape better, are easierto move and farless likely
to rip during handling.
Silage quality is definitely bettersays Cathal especially forhigher
dry matter(DM) grass. “Silage is sweeterand there is no mould
so my customers appreciate this and had no problem switching
to the new Film & Film system. Before this we usually had to cut
open the bales to checksilage orhaylage quality and checkfor
moulds and wastage.”
To furtherimprove the nutritional value of his haylage used for
sheep Cathal has a bulktankmounted on a front end loader
fitted with a dribble barwhich can add molasses to the bales
before wrapping. Some of his sheep customers also avail of this
service. SilotitePro Blackbalewrap film is on a 1950m reel instead
of the conventional 1500m reel. This additional length allows
users to produce 30 percent more bales perreel. The resultant
cost savings are furtherenhanced by a reduction in the reel
changes necessary. Un-boxing and changing a reel takes approx.
7 minutes, so a contractorwrapping say 350 bales a day can save
around 30 minutes daily.
Baletite is an innovative pre-orientated film that replaces
netwrap in round silage bales. Specifically created forthe next
generation of baling machines such as the McHale Fusion 3 Plus,
it has been designed to enhance the ensiling process and protect
the bale contents.
Being a film, Baletite provides an additional airbarrierwhilst
helping to retain a betterbale shape by exerting a tightergrip
around the bale circumference. Plus it reduces wastage of
valuable silage, as, unlike netwrap, no baled foddercan become
enmeshed in it. Its production from the same base material as
Silotite Pro balewrap means users don’t have to separate the
Baletite from balewrap afteruse. Instead, both Baletite and the
balewrap can be recycled togetherthereby saving valuable time
and labourcosts. Excellent trial results have been obtained in
Britain forthe Film & Film system by Dr. Dave Davies of Silage
Solutions Ltd, who acts as an independent consultant to the Silage
Advisory Centres. Dr. Davies is a well-known forage expert and is
a formerSeniorResearch Scientist at the Institute of Grassland &
Environmental Research (IGER) at Aberystwyth in Wales.
Indeed, an independent trial he conducted on a commercial farm
in England demonstrated that the Film & Film wrapped bales had:
XX 7.5 percent less dry matter(DM) losses compared to netwrap
bales due to an enhanced fermentation process.
XX 80 percent less DM losses compared to netwrap bales due to
mould formation on the bale.
XX an overall 52 percent reduction in DM losses compared to
netwrap bales
The reduced losses that resulted through the use of the F&F
wrapping system means that the farmerhad more forage to feed
to his herd.
Shane Swan, Julie Swan, local student Brian Farrell and Cathal Swan
45

This winterit became a reality on a large scale with up to
19,400 hectares qualifying forthe FodderProduction Incentive
Scheme, worth €155/Ha forshort term grass crops and €100/
Ha forbrassica crop production. Added to the commercial
arrangements between the individual livestockand tillage
farmers, this made the contract fodderoption affordable forthe
purchaserand profitable forthe crop grower. There were 1,700
applicants forthe scheme with a breakdown of 13,400 hectares
being devoted to brassica production and 6,000 hectares sown
down to short term grass production.
WESTERWOLD PRODUCTION
The most popularshort-term grass production option was
Westerwolds, an annual grass which can be harvested twice
between the autumn and spring periods and can also be zero
grazed, orgrazed in situ. Most of the Westerwolds crops were
ensiled in silage pits orbaled. The fact that the soil temperatures
stayed well above the seasonal average right through to the
end of February meant that growth was exceptional, not only on
permanent pasture but also in these short-term grass crops. It
was also, on average a drywinterto the end of February, making
harvesting of crops more manageable with low levels of damage
to soil surfaces. In orderto make these short-term grass crops
viable they need to be cropped twice to maximise output. Most
were harvested at the end of Novemberwith the intention of
taking a second harvest in late March. In general, due to benign
climatic conditions, there were few difficulties with harvesting, at
least forthe first cropping period.
PRACTICAL ISSUES
One observation of the Westerwold silage crops – more
pronounced in the baled silage – is the amount of small stones
that are gathered into the bales in the baling process. Presumably
this is because the grass tends to be low lying and cut close
to the soil so that, on gravely soils, it is almost inevitable that
a certain amount of stone material will be gathered up in the
harvesting process. It doesn’t seem to have any adverse effect
on the livestock, with farmers removing any stone material at
regularintervals from the feeding face. Anotherobservation is
that there is limited opportunity to bring up dry matterin the
crops bywilting. Days are short and not conducive to wilting and
any excessive tedding will only bring up more stones into the
sward. Nevertheless, the harvested crops, while high in moisture,
in the main ensiled and preserved well, both in pits and in bales.
The livestockare the ultimate test and there was no noticeable
reluctance to eat the material, so palatability is not an issue,
despite the higherthan optimal moisture levels.
THE COST CONSIDERATION
The average cost of production forWesterwolds is calculated
at €281/Ac. The breakeven costs perbale workout at €35/bale,
assuming eight bales peracre. It is by no means a cheap crop to
grow orpurchase. Forcomparison, first cut silage has an average
cost of €150/t DM and second cut silage has an average cost of
€170/t DM, while a crop ofWesterwolds costs, on average, €200/t
DM. Because of the unprecedented weatherconditions which
led to an acute foddershortage this past winter, the additional
costs of purchasing these short-term crops are acceptable. The
Department subvention was worthwhile, making the exercise
affordable at a particulartime when cost was somewhat
secondary to availability and supply. Tillage and livestockfarmers
did theirown deals based on making the crops a win-win forboth
parties, with the tillage farmerreceiving a small margin on his/her
off-season crop and the livestockfarmersecuring an additional
supply of much needed forage.
THE WEATHER BONUS
It should be noted that, because of the very mild and relatively
drywinterof 2018/19 the yields ofWesterwolds and othercrops
were much higherthan average. We can assume that, in most
instances, tillage farmers produced crops ofWesterwolds yielding
nearertwo tonnes of grass DM perhectare than the average of
1.4 tonnes perhectare that would be expected in a normal year.
That should have had the effect of diluting production costs
considerably. The otherside of the coin is that a particularlywet
and cold winter, with heavy frosts, had the potential to reduce
yields significantly. Westerwolds are very susceptible to frost
damage, thinning out the crop and reducing bulkproduction,
especially in the second cut. Thankfully, on this occasion, the
weatherworked in favourof everyone involved.
Asuccessfulfodderproduction
strategywithWesterwolds
46
If ever there was a yearwhere late sown forage crops delivered real value it was in the autumn/
winter of 2018/19. With financial support from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the
Marine, there was an opportunity for tillage and livestock farmers to cooperate to mutual benefit.
Heretofore practiced by a minority of tillage and livestock farmers, such cooperation has often
been advocated, especially on account of the ongoing growth in Ireland’s dairy herd, and because
of the fodder shortage being faced by thousands of livestock farmers.
Author: Matt O’Keeffe

Moorepark ‘19
Irish Dairying - Growing Sustainably
Teagasc Dairy
Open Day
Wednesday
3rd
July
Teagasc, Moorepark,
Fermoy, Co. Cork
#Moorepark19

KILLS WORMS AND
ALLOWS IMMUNITY TO DEVELOP
THE RIGHT BALANCE
REPIDOSE
THE ONLY PULSE RELEASE BOLUS
TO PROVIDE SEASON LONG PROTECTION
A significant increase in the incidence of lungworm has been seen in recent years.1
Immunity to
lungworm requires constant re-infection with low numbers of lungworm larvae. Only Repidose
provides a programmed release of seven separate worming doses, designed specifically to allow a
degree of worm development for stimulation of immunity.
IE/RRP/0315/0001March2017
Use Medicines Responsibly
Repidose Ready Pulse is a cylindrical pulse release bolus device made up of a PVC cap segment, seven individual cells, corroding central alloy core and mild steel
end weight of sufficient density to prevent regurgitation. For product details, contra-indications and warnings always refer to the package leaflet or approved SPC.
Legal category: ROI LM .
Further information is available from MSD Animal Health, Red Oak North,
South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, Ireland. Tel: 01 2970220.
E-mail: vet-support.ie@merck.com Web: www.msd-animal-health.ie
References: 1. Murphy (2013) Preventing lungworm infection in adult cattle. Veterinary Ireland Journal Vol3 No.4, 196-200

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